


Star Wars Episode II: The Splintered Republic

by StarboardJedi5



Series: Star Wars Prequel Rewrite [2]
Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alderaan, Alternate Prequels, Alternate Universe, Canon Rewrite, Clone Wars, Coruscant, Prequel, Ryloth - Freeform, Seduction to the Dark Side, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-02
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2018-12-10 00:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 49,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11680626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarboardJedi5/pseuds/StarboardJedi5
Summary: Sequel to Episode I: The Ways of the Force - Four years after the Battle of Alderaan, the galaxy remains locked in civil war, with Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme caught at the center of the conflict. As the war with the Separatists winds down, the battle within is only beginning, as the very fabric of the Republic begins to unravel, spurred on by secrets, lies, and betrayal.





	1. War on All Fronts

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

 

**Star Wars**

**Episode II: The Splintered Republic**

 

_Four years after the Battle_

_of Alderaan, the Republic remains_

_locked in a war of attrition_

_against the Separatists, each side_

_now supported by an army of clones._

 

_As support for the war dwindles,_

_tensions rise between the Jedi Order_

_and the Republic, whose leaders_

_are now desperate to bring_

_the conflict to an end._

 

_In the midst of this turmoil,_

_General Palpatine launches an_

_offensive on Ryloth that may_

_finally crush the Separatists_

_once and for all..._

 

** War on All Fronts **

In the hangar bay of the Republic attack cruiser, Anakin Skywalker leaned against a gunship, his hands tucked into the sleeves of his Jedi cloak. He watched the mottled-orange orb of the planet Ryloth as the cruiser drew ever closer. Outside he could see squadron after squadron of starfighters forming up, preparing to provide cover for the landing of the ground assault forces. Anakin sighed wistfully as he watched the fighters. He would much rather have been landing on Ryloth in his Delta-7 than stuck on a clunky gunship.

“Come on, time to go,” Obi-Wan said, emerging from the gunship and putting a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. The forcefield around the hangar bay was rimmed in a pale yellow glow as the cruiser descended into the atmosphere. Anakin took one last look at Ryloth, then stepped up into the gunship behind Obi-Wan and took his position amongst the clone troopers already aboard.

He held onto the dangling metal handle above him as the gunships doors locked into the closed position and the engines fired up. The gunship swayed as the repulsorlifts came online and the craft lifted from the floor of the hangar, headed for the landing zone on the planet’s surface.

They hadn’t been airborne for long when the firing started. The gunship began to buck as laser cannon fire grazed its armor. Anakin gripped the overhead handle a little more tightly. There were no viewports in this part of the gunship, but the percussive sound of laser cannon and the intermittent booms of the larger guns were enough to tell him they were taking heavy fire.

There was a bright light and a deafening blast above them. Anakin ducked away, raising his arm to try and shield his face from any debris. When he looked up again he saw smoke drifting toward them from the cockpit.  The gunship was beginning to veer wildly.

“Anakin, with me!” Obi-Wan shouted through the din of blaster fire and explosions that now seemed louder than ever. Anakin squinted through the smoke and dust, coughing to try and clear his lungs. He saw Obi-Wan heading for the cockpit and followed him, stumbling forward as the gunship lurched from side to side.

Wind howled through the hole above him where the co-pilot’s position had been blasted away. He could see laser bolts zinging above him through the opening. In front of him, Obi-Wan was already at the cockpit, pulling at the body of the clone trooper pilot. Anakin grabbed hold of the body as well and together they pulled the dead pilot out of the seat.

“Your turn,” Obi-Wan said, pointing to the cockpit. Anakin pulled of his cloak and climbed up into the pilot’s seat, strapping in and cinching the restraints tight around his torso. The canopy above him was half-shattered, allowing wind and dust to whip around him. What he wouldn’t have given for a good pair of podracing goggles. But that was the least of his problems. The fuel cells were damaged and they were losing power, fast.

“Tell them to hold on!” he shouted back to Obi-Wan as he grabbed the controls, trying to wrestle the gunship back under control. Now that Anakin had a proper view of what was happening outside, he was beginning to wish he was back in the windowless hold again. The air was thick with blaster fire and explosions.

“You can land this thing, can’t you?” Obi-Wan shouted through the noise.

“We’re about to find out.” Anakin swung the gunship wide of incoming fire from a Separatist artillery gun. The control wheel vibrated in his hands as the engines, choked for power, began to whine in protest. They didn’t have enough fuel to stay up here much longer.

He knew well enough how to glide an engineless vessel and land it deadstick, but that kind of maneuver required space and time, and he had neither. Gliding in would require them to deviate from the flight path and be airborne longer, but Anakin knew each second in the air only increased the odds they would be shot down. He had to get lower before the ship lost power, or they would be a prime target for the Separatist guns.

There was a massive boom to his right as another gunship took a direct hit and exploded. Anakin watched as its remains plummeted to the ground in fiery chunks of debris. He had to land the gunship, and quickly, or they were likely to meet the same fate.

Thinking fast, Anakin pushed the gunship into a dive and cut the power. The vessel began to hurtle toward the ground, building speed. He heard shouts from the hold behind him, but Anakin kept his concentration, one eye on the altitude meter. He only had enough fuel for a quick burst of power, and he had to time it just right.

“Anakin, what do you think you’re doing?” Obi-Wan yelled up to him. He heard the edge of panic in his master’s voice, but he didn’t answer. He had to stay focused. The readout on the altitude meter continued to drop, but Anakin held steady, waiting.

As the gunship’s altitude dipped below two hundred meters, Anakin cut the power back on and pulled up sharply on the control wheel. The burst of power required to bring the ship out of its dive depleted all but the last of the fuel, and with seconds of righting the ship the engines began to sputter.

He released the throttle, relying on the ship’s momentum to carry them the last few hundred meters to the landing zone. His gambit had worked, they were now flying well below the line of fire. But he still had to get them on the ground in one piece, and he would need the last bit of their power reserve to do it.

He nosed the gunship down, decreasing his altitude as gradually as possible as they approached the landing zone. He shifted the position of the wings to create drag and help slow them down, but they still hit the ground hard, skidding along the landing zone.

Anakin punched the reverse thrusters and for just a moment the engines roared back to life. Twisting the control wheel around, Anakin forced the ship to turn before the engines fully cut out. He was jostled against his restraints as the gunship slid clumsily along the ground for another fifty meters, but at last the vessel ground to a halt.

A Twi’lek grounds crew was running toward them from one of the bunkers. Behind him he could hear Obi-Wan’s voice as his master checked on the status of the men. Anakin unstrapped and climbed down out of the cockpit. At the back of the ship, Obi-Wan was helping the troops to their feet. The men in the hold looked shaken up, but they were alive. The grounds crew swarmed in with med kits at the ready.

“That was one hell of a landing, sir,” a member from the grounds crew said in a heavy Rylothian accent, offering Anakin his hand. Anakin stared at the Twi’lek’s extended hand for a moment, still feeling dazed. Haltingly, he began to reach out his own hand, which the crewman grabbed in a hearty handshake, beaming. “Welcome to Ryloth.”

 

*******

 

In a tiny flat, deep in the slums of Makria Station, Darth Maul stared at his reflection. The visage looking back at him in the dirty mirror was but a ruin of the man he had been. His once muscular torso was now thin, his chest sunken from lack of food. He ran his fingers over a short line of scar tissue on his chest, just above his heart. It was an ever present remainder of his failure on Alderann, of his humiliation at the hands of the Skywalkers. Maul burned with anger at the thought.

He limped over to the shabby cot he slept on and pulled on his tunic, retrieving his crutch from where it leaned against the wall. How many years had it been since that fateful day? He couldn’t be sure. Days blurred into weeks blurred into months until time seemed but a memory.

After the disaster on Alderaan, he’d tried to find his retreating Separatist comrades, but his fighter had run out of fuel and crashed-landed on the junk world of Lotho Minor, deep in the Outer Rim. He was half-dead when the Junkers found him. They’d encased his legs in crude metal braces and wired cybernetics through his spine, but the refurbished power cells they had were not enough to make him fully mobile.

Weak and crippled as he was, and with Republic forces moving further and further into the Outer Rim each day, he’d had to barter, beg, and threaten his way off Lotho Minor and across the systems of the Outer Rim, desperately trying to find a way back to the Separatists while evading the advancing Republic and the Jedi who led them.

It had taken him years of carefully judged system hops and extended periods of hiding to reach Makria Station, a seedy trading post at the edge of Wild Space. But there were reports that the Separatists came here to resupply, as Makria was one of the few trading posts around not occupied by Republic troops. If the rumors were true, Maul knew he might finally have a way out.

Maul opened the drawer of his rickety bedside table and withdrew the two objects inside it: his long-hilted lightsaber and a beat-up old vibroblade. The lightsaber he placed carefully inside his pack. It was far too ostentatious to wear on his belt. The knife he tucked into his belt. It was the same weapon that his master had given to his rival apprentice all those years ago, and that her son had buried in Maul’s chest during the Battle of Alderaan. He wore it for protection, but also as a reminder to himself that his revenge upon the Skywalkers was not yet complete. But vengeance would have to wait. First, he had to get home.

Pulling on his ragged cloak, Maul left his apartment and hobbled out into the streets of Makria Station. He leaned heavily on his crutch as he walked, the metal braces around his legs creaking as he moved. He kept his hood pulled low, keeping his face hidden from passerby. It was imperative that he not draw any unnecessary attention to himself, and a Zabrak man was an unusual sight on any planet that wasn’t Dathomir.

The bustling streets of Makria Station swarmed with traders, smugglers, beggars, and criminals. Steam rose from the durasteel walkway and fog blanketed the roads, making it hard to see. Despite the early hour the temperature at the trading post was already unbearably warm. Maul made his way toward the market, ignoring the beads of sweat forming on his skin.

Just outside the market, Maul positioned himself in an alleyway, keeping his ears and eyes open. He drew on the Force, attuning his senses to the people around him, probing, searching for someone he could use. A group of three Quarren approached from the other side of the market. They wore no insignia, but Maul knew many Quarren continued to serve the Separatists despite the defection of the their homeworld of Mon Cala back to the side of the Republic.

Maul sat quietly as they approached. When they were only a few meters away, the Quarren at the center of the group received a message on his comlink. He checked it, then gestured to his companions. “We’d better go. Grievous wants us to report back.”

As the small group moved on Maul left the alleyway and followed them, keeping a safe distance. He felt certain they must be a reconnaissance team, scoping for supplies. They approached a dock and Maul saw their small freighter, re-purposed as a military craft like so many of the Separatist ships. Quickening his pace as much as he could, he called out to the three Quarren. They turned, each with a hand on a blaster, wary of the interference of a strange.

“What do you want?” the leader among them asked contemptuously, taking a step forward. Maul assessed the Quarren’s mind. This was not an individual he could persuade with a mind trick. He would have to try a different approach.

“I require passage to the Separatist line,” Maul said, keeping his voice low. The Quarren stared at him for a moment, then barked out a short laugh.

“We’re not taking you anywhere. Get out of here, street filth!” He aimed a sharp kick at Maul’s leg, sending the Sith Lord to his knees. Maul’s anger rose swiftly. He thought of crushing the Quarren’s windpipe with the Force, but he had to be careful about how he used his powers. Republic spies were everywhere. He had avoided a confrontation with the Jedi for this long, he couldn’t afford to make a mistake now.

Drawing on the Force, Maul leapt toward the Quarren as he turned to walk back to his companions, pinning him against the hangar wall. Maul tilted his head back just enough to let the Quarren see his face, and he watched with satisfaction as the man’s eyes went wide, first with recognition and then with fear. He drew his knife and held it at the side of Quarren’s neck. He heard the sound of blasters being drawn and knew the other two Quarren were aiming at his back, but their leader waved them off.

“Take me to General Grievous,” Maul snarled, the knife glinting dangerously in his hand as he pressed it to the Quarren’s throat. “Now.”

 

*******

 

Obi-Wan took a seat next to Anakin near the front of the briefing room, deep inside one of the ray shielded bunkers on the heavily fortified Republic line. A large and diverse group was assembled. In one corner were a gaggle of Twi’lek resistance fighters, chattering animatedly amongst themselves in their native language, while the center of the room was dominated by the white-armored clone troopers of the 501st, and on the far side a group of two-dozen elite Republic naval commandos, known as Strikers.

Among the Strikers Obi-Wan saw KeAnn Lyosar, the ex-Jedi and former Rogue commander who had aided him on Alderaan. She caught his eye from across the room and gave him a small nod, which he returned. Obi-Wan knew that the presence of a Striker team meant their assignment must be even more difficult and dangerous than usual.

The doors to the briefing room opened and Bail Organa, Director of Republic Intelligence in the Outer Rim, strode in, with his staff not far behind. The room went quiet as he entered and began to manipulate the controls of the holographic projector at the room’s center. An image of the Separatist fortifications only a few clicks from where they now were, blossomed into existence before them. Bail gave a quick greeting to those gathered, then launched into the briefing.

“Our objective is the Separatist cloning facility here on Ryloth,” Organa said. Obi-Wan sensed the surprise in the room. Command had apparently played this one close to the chest, and Obi-Wan understood why. Taking out the enemy cloning facility would cripple the Separatists, maybe even be enough to win the war. “The Separatists have occupied large sections of the Twi’lek cave systems to keep their work hidden,” Bail continued as he flipped a switch and the projection zoomed in to give them a closer view of the area under discussion.

“This sounds like a mission for our bombers, director,” one of the Strikers said from the back corner. Bail shook his head.

“It’s deep enough below the ground that bombers and missiles won’t be enough to take the facility out,” he explained. “The caves will have to infiltrated and destroyed from within.”

“I guess that explains why they wanted Jedi and Strikers,” Anakin whispered. Obi-Wan nodded. This mission was not going to be easy.

“The area around the caves is heavily fortified. We’re going in with three battalions, the 501st will spearhead the assault.” Obi-Wan sighed. It was always his battalion being tasked to lead assaults.

“Once we’ve breached the line, General Kenobi and Commander Lyosar will lead their strike teams into the facility itself, accompanied by Commander Syndulla and his fighters,” Bail said. “They will gather whatever intel they can and set charges to destroy the facility.” Obi-Wan expected a schematic of the cave system appear on the holo, but none did. Instead, Bail switched it off. “I don’t need to remind you all that this mission is vital to our operations here on Ryloth. A lot of lives have already been lost to bring us this far,” he said somberly.

“We will honor their sacrifice with victory,” Commander Syndulla said confidently, stepping forward. Behind him his troops banged the butts of their blaster rifles on the floor in agreement. Obi-Wan wished he shared their confidence.

“The ground assault will begin at oh-five-hundred,“ Bail announced. “May the Force be with you.”

“That’s it?” Anakin asked Obi-Wan as the briefing concluded. “They hardly told us anything!” Obi-Wan agreed, but it seemed clear the briefing was over. Those gathered began to move out of the room, speaking in low tones about the mission as they left, though Obi-Wan could see KeAnn in animated discussion with a few members of her team. Obi-Wan rose and headed toward her, Anakin in tow, but before he reached her Bail called out to them.

“General Kenobi, Commander Lyosar, a moment.” Seeing Anakin hesitate, he gestured for him to come over as well. “Yes, Skywalker, you stay too.” When he spoke again, his voice was low, and the three of them came in close to hear him. Obi-Wan could see his eyes on the backs of the last few stragglers as they left. He clearly didn’t want to be overheard. “I didn’t want to bring it up in the larger briefing, but I’m afraid there have been complications regarding our intelligence of the cloning facility.”

“Complications?” KeAnn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We had hoped to have a complete map of the caves, but our agent inside has disappeared.”

“Then we’re going in blind?” Obi-Was asked.

“Cham Syndulla and his resistance fighters know the caves, we can rely on them to navigate,” Bail explained, but Obi-Wan was not reassured.

“Regardless, if your contact was discovered, they may already know we’re coming,” he pointed out.

“It’s a risk we’ll have to take,” Bail said, holding his hands up. “General Palpatine is aware of the situation, but he has ordered us to proceed.” Obi-Wan saw KeAnn clench her jaw at the mention of Palpatine, but she kept quiet.

“I’m sure the General has his reasons,” Anakin said confidently.

“Yes, he always does,” Obi-Wan muttered. Palpatine had earned a reputation as a military leader who put victory above the lives of those he commanded.

“I appreciate the warning Bail, but I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t handle,” KeAnn said. There was nothing else to say, really. If Palpatine wanted them to go in, they were going in. Bail nodded, though Obi-Wan could see that he was troubled by the situation.

“Keep your comms on tomorrow, if we run into anything too rough, we’ll abort. I’ll take the heat from command, if it comes to that,” Bail said. He checked his chronometer, “I have to report back,” he said, heading for the exit. “Stay safe out there tomorrow.” Obi-Wan and the others followed him out the door, but turned in the opposite direction back toward the barracks.

“I never expected to see you serving under the Republic flag,” Obi-Wan said to KeAnn as they headed back to their quarters, Anakin walking just behind. She shrugged at his question.

“After the Rogues were disbanded it was the only way to really stay in the fight.”

“We’ll see plenty of action tomorrow, I imagine,” Obi-Wan said.

“Yes, another one of Palpatine’s gambits,” KeAnn said, her voice edged with anger. Like many Alderaanians, she blamed Palpatine for the brutal three year occupation her planet had endured. “They often come with a steep price.”

“I’m afraid tomorrow will be no different,” Obi-Wan said, keeping his voice down. There was no need to stir up fear amongst the troops. “We’re rushing in on very weak intelligence. Things could go very badly.”

“Perhaps General Palpatine believes it’s more important to send a strong signal now, with a bold and decisive action,” Anakin offered. “If we wait for the perfect moment, it may never come.” Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder at his apprentice and frowned, but didn’t say anything. To Obi-Wan’s displeasure, his apprentice had developed an admiration for Palpatine’s command tactics.

“Well, we’ll find out soon enough,” KeAnn said as they came to a split in the corridor. “I’m this way.” She gave them a salute as she headed down one side of the fork. “See you on the other side.”

 

*******

 

The tension in the conference room was palpable. The Defense Committee of the Galactic Senate was gathered and Ainlee Teem the representative from Malastare, was just coming to the end of a lengthy speech regarding his proposition to grant General Palpatine yet more unilateral control over the Republic forces. Padme knew that as soon as it was over, all hell would break lose.

“Before the Separatists began to use clones it was a different matter, but now things have changed. Our deliberations here in the Senate are costing us precious time,” the Gran said in thickly accented basic, about to conclude his remarks. “General Palpatine’s powers must be strengthened if we mean to win this war.” As Teem sat down the room erupted into a cacophony of sound as the other committee members reacted to the proposal.

“I agree with Senator Teem,” said the senator from Corellia, straining to make her voice heard above the din, but when the others realized who was speaking, they quieted. Corellia wielded a lot of power within the Republic, and Senator Rendar was the chair of the Defense Committee. “We must have absolute unity if we are to destroy these secessionists once and for all.”

“Absolute unity or absolute power, Senator?” The representative from Dantooine asked. “Are we not still a Republic?”

“We will be nothing at all if they are allowed to win this war!” Senator Zarel exclaimed, slamming one of his four fists against the long table around which they were gathered. Padme watched as several senators nodded in response.

“Darth Maul may have been defeated, but his army was not,” a Twi’lek senator said. “However short his reign over the Separatists, he was able to deliver a devastating blow to our forces in that time. If another like him should rise, another leader who knows the ways of the Force…”

“Maul is dead,” another senator pointed out, shrugging at his colleagues concerns. “Besides, we have what the Separatists never will. We have the Jedi.”

“Senator Balahish makes an excellent point. Why should we fear one being’s power when there are thousands who share it fighting for us?” As her colleagues discussed the Jedi, Padme’s mind flashed to Anakin, somewhere in the Outer Rim, probably locked in battle at this very moment. She pushed the thought from her mind. It would do her no good to worry.

“But we can’t control them! The Jedi are accountable to no one! They have been stalling the war for years with their unwillingness to cooperate with our strategies,” the senator from Harloff Minor said, joining the fray.

“The Jedi have stood by their Code,” Padme said, coming to the Jedi’s defense. “There is no fault in that.”

“And yet you, Senator, broke with hundreds of years of pacifist tradition on Alderaan when you joined the Rogues, did you not?” the Togruta senator from Shili asked, bowing her montrals in Padme’s direction. Before Padme could respond another woman’s voice echoed from the opposite side of the room.

“We must all make difficult choices in a time of war, but to force someone to abandon a code of ethics is another thing entirely,” Senator Mothma’s voice was quiet, but somehow managed to be both calming and authoritative. “Senator Naberrie is right,” Mon Mothma continued, “We should not condemn the Jedi for retaining their principles, whether we agree with them or not.” There were murmurs of agreement as the senator from Chandrila finished speaking, but the fight wasn’t over.

“Their principles are costing us this war!” Senator Zarel shouted, his voice booming around the room. His anger and frustration were palpable, and Padme knew many shared his views.

“Forget the Jedi, we don’t need them,” another senator chimed in. “It is only a matter of time before we defeat the Separatists. Grievous may be an impressive military leader, but he has not been able to unite all the factions as Maul did. We will outlast them.”

As the debate continued, one of Senator Rendar’s aides came forward and whispered something in her ear. As the aide withdrew, the senator stood and held up her hands for silence. “Senators, I’m afraid we will have to postpone further discussion. The ruling delegations have begun to arrive.” Padme brightened at the announcement. Each year the ruling delegations from the various Republic planets came to Coruscant to meet for a joint session with the Senate, but for Padme it also meant a long awaited reunion with an old friend. “We will take up this matter after the joint session concludes next week.”

Padme got up quickly and hurried to the exit, eager to get out before any of her fellow senators tried to stop her for a chat. Once in the hallway, she headed toward the lobby of the Senate Building. An aide followed her, trying to read her a message off a datapad, but Padme hushed him. “That can wait. I’ll see you back in my office,” she said, waving him off.

The lobby was already filled with arriving delegations when she got there. She stood on her tiptoes, internally lamenting her small stature as she tried to peer over the crowds. She wandered into the gaggle of people, peering under the hoods of robes, but she didn’t see the person she was looking for. Realizing that the Alderaanian delegation might not have landed yet, she surrendered her search and started back in the direction of her office, when a voice called out to her from across the lobby.

“Padme!” She grinned and turned to see Breha hurrying towards her. Disregarding decorum, Padme ran towards her friend and grabbed the princess in a hug, as though they were once again Alderaanian school girls seeing one another for the first time after a long break.

“It’s so wonderful to see you,” Breha said as they broke apart, both of them beaming. “It’s been too long, as always.”

“I can’t believe I haven’t seen you since the wedding,” Padme said. “How’s married life?”

“I wish I could tell you,” Breha said with a sigh. “Bail left for some far-flung mission six months ago. He couldn’t even tell me where or for how long.” Breha’s voice was steady, but Padme heard the strain underneath the surface. Breha’s husband, Bail Organa, had served with both of them in the Rogues, but was now back with Republic Intelligence. He’d recently been appointed director for the Outer Rim. It was a dangerous job, and they both knew it.

“I’m sure he’ll be back soon,” Padme said, trying to be reassuring. She steered the conversation elsewhere. “I, for one, can’t wait to get back to Alderaan when my term ends.” Breha smiled at that.

“Salma is determined to talk you into staying, you know.” Breha’s old sister, Queen Salma, had appointed Padme to take her place in the Senate after the liberation of Alderaan, and Padme had accepted, albeit reluctantly.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Padme said firmly. “No one is talking me out of leaving the Senate, not even the Queen. Not this time.” Padme quickly stopped talking as the rest of the Alderaanian delegation approached. The queen was flanked by a cadre of assistants and Alderaanian nobility. As Salma came up to them, Padme and Breha both bowed at the waist.

“Your majesty,” Padme said as she rose from her bow. “Welcome to Coruscant.”

“Senator,” Salma said, inclining her head slightly toward Padme. She looked remarkably like Breha, although the two sisters were separated in age by almost a decade. The queen, however, was aloof and reserved, and notoriously difficult to please. “Princess Ta’a Chume has invited us for dinner this evening. You will join us, of course?”

“Yes, of course,” Padme said with a nod. She did not relish the idea of spending an evening among a gathering of royalty, especially if the conniving crown princess of Hapes was hosting, but she didn’t dare refuse. Hobnobbing with the homeworld rulers was part of the job.

“Good,” Salma said, giving a small smile of approval. “Bessett will send the details to your office,” she said, gesturing to one of her assistants, who was already typing furiously into a data pad.

“Very good, your majesty. I’m looking forward to it,” Padme lied, she hoped convincingly. Another dignitary called to Salma from across the room, and the delegation moved on.

“We’ll catch up at dinner.” Breha said as the others moved off. Padme nodded and waved farewell as Breha turned and followed her sister back into the crowded lobby. Padme headed for the lifts and made the short journey back to her apartment in 500 Republica, the towering skyscraper that dominated the Coruscant skyline and housed most of the Republic’s senators, with most of the other apartments rented out to the galaxy’s royalty and the super-rich.

She had never been quite comfortable with the ostentation of her accommodations on Coruscant, but as she entered her apartment and took in the view from almost seven-hundred floors up, she couldn’t deny the place had its charms. She pulled off her senatorial robes and changed into an elegant evening gown one of her aides had already laid out for her. It fit slightly more snugly now than it had a few months ago, but she pulled a shimmersilk shawl around her shoulders and hoped no one would notice.

At her desk, a message was scrolling through providing her with the evening’s dinner invitation. She took the time she had to do some additional work, responding to the messages of colleagues and constituents, volunteering herself for yet another diplomatic mission, setting reminders for herself to read through proposed legislation before tomorrow’s voting session. As the sun began to set, casting an orange glow over the city-planet, she powered down her work station and took the lift up the additional seventy-odd floors to the apartment of Ta’a Chume.

If Padme believed her own apartment to be lavish, it was nothing compared to the one occupied by the crown princess of Hapes. A servant led her through an exquisitely decorated entry into a large parlor, where the dinner guests were gathered for before dinner drinks. A quartet played in the corner, as waiters roved the floor with trays of cocktails and appetizers.

“Ah, Senator Naberrie!” Ta’a Chume swept towards her, dressed in a dazzling gown. “Please, come in, have a drink.” She took the drink to be polite, but didn’t sip from it. She scanned the room until she found Breha, then made a beeline for her friend. She stuck close to the princess, making polite small talk with royalty and nobility of various stripes, and always being careful not to stray too far into politics. Such discussions were a minefield. It all made her nostalgic for a simpler time, when she knew who her enemy was and the battles were fought with blasters.

At last the call came for dinner and Padme made her way into the dining room with the others. Mercifully, she’d been seated next to Breha, near Ta’a Chume’s consort, with Ta’a Chume and Salma at the opposite end of the table. The food was excellent and Padme found that she was, to her surprise, enjoying herself. She began to relax a little.

But just as dessert was being cleared away, Padme suddenly felt very warm. A terrible wave of nausea swept over her. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to picture the mountains of home, the cold, crisp air filling her lungs. After a few moments, the terrible feeling began to pass, but when she opened her eyes several of the dinner guests, including Breha, were staring at her.

“Are you alright?” the princess asked, her brow furrowed with worry.

“I’m fine,” Padme said weakly. As she looked around at the others she realized no one believed her. She sat up a little straighter. “Really, I’m fine, just exhausted I think.” It was a lie, but she felt compelled to tell it. “Everything has been so hectic,” she added by way of explanation, but even as she said it she felt the feeling of illness return. She needed to get out of here. “If you’ll excuse me, your majesty,” she said, pushing back her chair and standing up. “I believe I should retire.”

“Yes, of course,” the queen said, looking at her with concern. “But someone should go with you.”

“That really isn’t necessary,” Padme protested as she pushed her chair back in. “I’ll be fine. Thank you, your highness, for a lovely evening,” she said, bowing toward Ta’a Chume. “Your majesty,” she gave Salma a quick bow and then walked quickly to the door, hoping she could make it back to her apartment before she was actually sick. She hurried past a servant, ignoring the man’s offer of help, and made it into the hall and to the lift. Just as the doors of the lift were closing, a hand thrust between the doors and they reopened. It was Breha. She stepped into the lift beside Padme and it began to descend.

“What’s going on?” Breha demanded, looking hard at Padme, who was leaning against the back wall of the lift.

“I’m fine Breha, really, I’m just tired,” Padme said, hoping Breha would drop it. The lift reached her floor and she got out, but Breha came after her.

“I’ve seen you tired. This isn’t tired, this is something else,” Breha said as she followed Padme into her apartment. Padme slumped on a sofa as soon as she got in the door. She felt too terrible to try and make it to her bed.

“I’m calling a med droid,” Breha said.

“I don’t need a med droid,” Padme protested.

“You’ve gone as pale as an Umbaran,” Breha said. “You need medical attention.” Breha started to walk toward the comm but Padme put up a hand to stop her.

“Breha, wait.” Breha turned to look at her. “I’m not sick, not really.” Breha looked at her for a moment, then came and sat next to her on the sofa.

“Padme, what’s going on?” Breha was looking at her very intently, and Padme felt herself shrink under her friend’s gaze. The nauseous feeling began to subside, but it was replaced with a new, nervous energy. She didn’t want to lie to Breha. She wanted to tell her the truth. She needed to tell her, to tell someone. Breha was the one person she could trust.

“I’m not sick,” she said, slowly, trying to calm the tremor in her voice. “I’m pregnant.” In an instant Breha’s expression shifted from one of concern to one of shock. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide as she started at Padme in disbelief.

“Pregnant?” Breha echoed back.

“Pregnant,” Padme repeated, more confidently this time. She might as well tell it all now. “With twins.” Breha’s eyes went still wider, her eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline in surprise.

“Twins! But...who...”

“Anakin,” she said quickly, answering Breha’s incomplete question. “It’s Anakin.” Padme braced herself for a poor reaction. Breha had never been very fond of the young man from Tatooine.

“Anakin. Anakin _Skywalker_?” Breha asked, stunned, as though sure she must have misheard the name. “He’s a Jedi!”

“I’m well aware of that,” Padme said. Breha shot her a reproachful glance. “Don’t give me that look, I know it was foolish. It’s not like I planned on any of this,” Padme said, throwing up her hands.

“So what happened?” Breha asked, unable to stop the question from sounding accusatory. Padme sighed deeply, leaning back against the arm of the sofa.

“I was sent on a diplomatic mission to Scipio a couple of months ago,” she explained, twirling the fringes of her shawl and avoiding eye contact with Breha. “He was assigned to the same mission. We just…” she struggled to find the words to explain what had happened. “We fell back into old habits,” she said, deciding no further elaboration was needed. The flush in her cheeks was no doubt telling volumes. Breha arched a concerned eyebrow.

“What are you going to do?” the princess asked quietly. That question had been plaguing Padme since the moment she’d heard those two tiny, fast heartbeats emanating from the speakers on the med droid’s scan pad. But the intense feeling of panic she’d felt in that instant had mostly subsided. She had a plan, or at least the beginnings of one.

“My time in the Senate is almost up,” she said. “I’ll finish out my term and return to Alderaan. They’ve rebuilt most of Elurra now,” she said, referring to the mountain village where she’d been born and raised. It has been bombed into nothingness during the Separatist invasion, but after the planet’s liberation people had begun to return and restart their lives. Padme wanted to be among them.  “It’s a good place to raise a family.”

“It is,” Breha said, nodding in understanding, but her expression was still clouded with worry. “What about Anakin?” Padme hesitated. All her fears about the future suddenly came rushing to the fore.

“I don’t know,” she said with a small shrug. It was the truth. She had no idea how Anakin was going to react and, what troubled her more, she wasn’t sure how she wanted him to react. If he remained in the Order, her path forward was difficult, but clear. But if he didn’t? Their relationship had always been sporadic, defined by distance and secrecy. What if they couldn’t make a real partnership work? Her heart started pounding at the thought.

“You haven’t told him.” Breha said. It wasn’t a question, but Padme shook her head anyway.

“He’s at the front, somewhere in the Outer Rim, I don’t even know where exactly. Even if I knew where he was, I couldn’t risk a message.” All of it was true, but deep down Padme knew that even when Anakin came home, it was going to be hard to find the courage to tell him. She didn’t confess her fears out loud, but she and Breha had known each other a long time. Breha knew when she was afraid.

“Whatever happens, you will always have a place to call home on Alderaan,” Breha said sincerely, leaning forward and looking Padme square in the eye. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

Padme nodded. She didn’t quite trust herself to speak as a flurry of emotions bubbled to the surface and she struggled to keep them in check. She hadn’t realized it, but she needed her friend’s reassurance, and she was grateful Breha had offered it.

“In the meantime, watch your back around here. You won’t be able to hide this for long and you know how vicious Coruscant gossip is. The holonet would have field day with this if it ever got out.”

“I know, I’ll be careful.” She’d already wiped her checkup records from the med droid’s memory. The worst of the scandal mongers were not above going after that kind of data, even if it was illegal to release it. Her guard was up.

“I’ll make some excuse to Ta’a Chume on your behalf...Guavian flu, maybe.  You don’t want to raise her suspicion. She would blackmail you without a second thought.” The princess checked her chronometer. “I should go, I can’t abandon Salma for too long. I’ll let you get some rest,” Breha stood to take her leave, but she paused at the doorway. She turned back, locking eyes with Padme. “You’re sure this is what you want?”

“Yes,” Padme said, and she meant it. “I’m sure.”


	2. Assault on Ryloth

**Assault on Ryloth**

Maul stared at the stars through the viewport of the med station, seated in the repulsorlift chair provided to him by the Separatist medics. The station was Republic-built, one of their  _Haven_ -class deep space stations constructed when the war first broke out. The Separatists eventually captured it and Grievous turned it into his personal base of operations, using its hyperdrive capabilities to stay one step ahead of the Republic for the last four years. Maul admired the general's ingenuity, but the time for hiding was over.

Hearing the doors behind him hiss open, Maul powered his chair around back toward the large table to the room's center and watched as General Grievous entered, flanked by two of his MagnaGuards.

The metal exoskeleton of the great Kaleesh warrior clanked menacingly as Grievous walked to the table and took his seat. Before his paralysis, Maul had always thought of Grievous as a monstrosity, barely better than a droid, kept alive by machinations. Now, however, Maul knew he would have to submit himself to the same treatment if he was ever going to fight again.

"Darth Maul." Grievous inclined his head slightly in greeting. "It has been too long. You were presumed dead after the lose of your flagship above Alderaan."

"I escaped. Though not, as you can see, unscathed." He sensed Grievous was wary of him. The general waited a beat before speaking again.

"Why have you chosen to return to us now?" Grievous asked, his tone laden with suspicion.

"I have been seeking a way to return for many years. However, my condition has made things difficult. I will require the aid of your physicians."

"Of course," Grievous said with a nod.

"Then I intend to resume my command," Maul said firmly.

"Much has happened since Alderaan," Grievous said, sidestepping Maul's statement. "We don't have the numbers we once did, even with the clones. The Republic presses in on us from all sides. They just landed a massive force on Ryloth."

"None of that matters now," Maul said dismissively.

"I will not lose another system," Grievous said, clenching his metal claws.

"The number of systems we hold isn't important," Maul said. "We have to inspire fear, that is the only thing people really understand. Fear gives us leverage." Grievous was silent a moment, fixing his yellow eyes on the Sith Lord.

"What do you propose?"

"The ruling delegations from the Republic worlds are gathered on Coruscant right now. There is no better time to send a message." Maul had listened carefully to the reports coming in over the holonet during his journey to the station. A plan was already formed in his mind. He knew what had to be done. Grievous, however, shook his head.

"You are living in the past," the general growled. "Coruscant is unassailable. They know you planned to attack it four years ago. The defenses are triple what they were then."

"I am not talking about an invasion," Maul insisted, leaning forward over the table. He had to make Grievous understand. "What is required is a precision strike. We must show them they are not safe." He could see it now. If the Senate building could be infiltrated, it wouldn't take much to wreck havoc among the government officials and politicians collected there. And the Jedi...Maul still had the command code that would turn their clones against them. It was all so simple, but before he could explain it to Grievous, the general stood as if to leave.

"I am not going to allow you to destroy us with another foolish plot," Grievous said, looming above Maul.

"You will not  _allow_  me?" Maul felt the fury rising in his chest. Grievous would never have dared to challenge him like this before.

"You no longer have any say here, this is my army, and I will fight this war my way." Without thinking, Maul lunged at Grievous, but the powercells of his leg braces were all but drained and he crumpled to the floor as they failed to hold him, while Grievous stepped easily out of the way. Metal claws closed around Maul's shoulders and dragged him up, pinning him against the wall.

"Ryloth is where we will make our stand," Grievous said as he held Maul in his vice-like grip. "Your dream of attacking Coruscant died above Alderaan, and you should have done the same." He threw Maul to the ground. Maul pushed himself up with his arms. His whole body was burning with anger.

"You short-sighted fool!" he snarled at Grievous. "You are going to lose this war!"

"We shall see." Grievous turned to the two MagnaGuards at the door. They'd activated their electrostaffs when Maul attacked, and the electric ends of the weapons hummed dangerously. Maul cursed himself for agreeing to come to this meeting unarmed. "Take Lord Maul to the brig," Grievous ordered as he opened the door. "I have business to attend to on Ryloth."

 

*******

 

Anakin woke well before dawn. He checked the time and found he had more than an hour before the assault was scheduled to begin. Rolling over in the bunk, he tried to go back to sleep, but rest alluded him. After a few fretful minutes of tossing and turning he gave up. Pushing back the covers, he hung his legs over the edge of the bunk and quietly jumped down. Obi-Wan was still sleeping soundly in the lower bunk.

Anakin pulled on his undershirt and his boots and left the room, making his way down the corridor and up the steps that led out of the bunker. Ryloth's climate was arid, not unlike his homeworld of Tatooine, but in the darkness of the very early morning the air was cool. The Republic encampment was positioned in a shallow valley and the landscape was dotted with odd rock formations created by a winding river that had dried up millenia before.

Finding a spot beneath one of the rock formations near the bunker entrance, Anakin sat with his back against the rock and folded his legs in front of him, resting his hands on his knees. He closed his eyes, attempting to clear his mind and enter a state of meditation. Obi-Wan was always trying to get him to practice his meditative exercises, but Anakin found it difficult to control the path his mind took. It often wandered to places he didn't want to go, forcing him to relive painful moments from his past.

Although Anakin struggled with the practice, he was determined to master it. The most powerful and disciplined of the Jedi Masters, like Master Yoda, could use their connection to the Force to seek out specific times and places, even to see the comings and goings of specific people thousands of lightyears away. And the one person Anakin wanted to see right now was very far away indeed.

He took a series of deep, calming breaths. He was determined not to lose control this time. He focused his mind, feeling the power of the Force flow through him. He waited, for what seemed like hours, hoping the Force would show him what he wanted to see. Slowly, he became less and less aware of his own body. Then, suddenly, he could see her.

Padme stood on the balcony of her Coruscant apartment, leaning on the rail and looking out over the city. It was evening there. Her hair was down, her dark curls framing her face. Her expression was pensive and difficult to read.

He felt a pang of longing. Their time together on Scipio had come to a sudden end when he'd been called away to the front. There had been so much they couldn't say in their hurried goodbye on the landing platform as Obi-Wan and the troop transport waited only meters away. He wondered if she could sense his presence now. He reached out to her through the Force, hoping that she could. But as he did so, his mind became clouded. Something was troubling her. Something was wrong.

Fear begin to creep into the edges of his mind. What was happening? Was she in danger? His chest seized with panic. His hold on the image was slipping. He tried to maintain his focus, but the Force seemed to have other ideas. It was pulling him away, towards something else. He couldn't stop it.

The vision of Padme on Coruscant dissolved and was replaced with a new scene. He found himself once more on Scipio, in a room with stunning views of the planet's snow-capped mountains, their rocky faces glinting in the moonlight. Padme was there too, sitting next to him on the chaise in front of the fireplace. There was barely any space between them. His meditation had taken him from the present back into the past.

His pulse quickened as he relived each moment. It had begun innocently enough, his fingers brushing hers as he passed her a drink, the gentle pressure of her hand against his arm as they shared a moment of laughter. And then he was telling her that he should go, even as the only movement he made was to lean in closer to her.

They gave in simultaneously, an unseen energy crackling between them as their lips met in an intense kiss, wrapped in each other's felt once more the dangerous rush of freedom as they succumbed to temptation, laying aside the oaths and responsibilities that had kept them apart for so long. Her fingers found the clasp of his utility belt and then began to pull away the layers of his tunic. He slipped the dress from her shoulders. Every curve of her body, every blemish and scar on her skin, felt familiar beneath his hands.

But the warm glow of the memory didn't last long. The vision before him grew hazy and unfocused. Some unseen force was pulling Padme away from him. The lush furnishings of the room on Scipio fade, leaving him in darkness. It was impossible to tell where they were. The only thing that was clear to him was the pained expression on Padme's face.

He couldn't see what was happening, but there was no doubt she was suffering. He had to stop it, he had to help her, but try as he might he couldn't close the space between them. Helpless, he looked on as she cried out in anguish. He called her name, but she didn't respond. Instead, all he heard was the terrible echo of mechanized breath, growing louder, and louder...

Anakin forced his eyes open, dragging himself out of his meditative state. He was sweating and shaking. Dark silhouettes ran to and fro between the bunkers, making ready for the attack. The battle would begin soon, but his meditation had left him rattled, not centered. He took deep breathes, trying to calm himself, but he was unnerved. Had the Force shown him a vision of the future?

Up on the ridge he could see that the Republic's artillery guns were moving into position. Before long they would open fire, weakening the Separatist line in preparation for the assault. Anakin stood up, trying to wipe the final scene of his meditation from his mind. There was no time for him to ruminate on what he had seen. Walking back towards the bunker, Anakin told himself over and over again that Padme was safe, that his vision meant nothing, that the future was impossible to predict...but he could not quite shake the cold feeling of dread that had lodged in his chest.

 

*******

 

Obi-Wan awoke to find the bunk above him empty. He checked his chrono and let loose a heavy sigh. Where was his apprentice? Anakin was often a source of anxiety for his master, but lately it seemed worse. Something had happened on Scipio. There had been a growing tension between them ever since his pupil had returned from that mission.

As Obi-Wan dressed, he found himself once again wishing he had not sent Anakin to Scipio. It was never supposed to happen at all, but the Jedi originally assigned to assist Senator Naberrie in negotiating additional loans from the Banking Clan had been captured en route. Obi-Wan and Anakin were already in the system, trying to keep the fragile peace on Muunilist. Logistically, it had made perfect sense for his apprentice to go while he continued their original mission, but Obi-Wan knew he had sent Anakin into a potentially compromising situation.

The door hissed open and Anakin came in, still only half-dressed. He barely glanced at Obi-Wan as he entered the room. "There you are," Obi-Wan said as his apprentice went to his trunk, gathering the pieces of his tunic and pulling them on hurriedly over his undershirt. He looked pale and shaky. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Anakin said, not looking up.

"You look terrible."

"I was meditating," Anakin said shortly. Obi-Wan frowned. Anakin had learned many Jedi skills with an ease and speed that made him the envy of other students, but a mastery of meditation eluded him. No doubt his latest attempt had gone poorly as well. Obi-Wan knew better than to press the matter.

"Well, you'd better get dressed, we're about to move out," he said, fastening his lightsaber to his belt and moving toward the door.

"I'll meet you out there," Anakin said. Obi-Wan gave him a nod, then headed out into the corridor, his mind now clouded by worry. It wasn't like Anakin to attempt to meditate without being prodded into it. What had he been trying to see?  _Padme,_ his mind whispered, but Obi-Wan dismissed the thought. Whatever Anakin's feelings for her had been, whatever they still were, he knew that his apprentice understood his commitment to the Jedi Order. He had to trust that Anakin would not do anything to jeopardize that commitment.

Obi-Wan hurried up the bunker steps and headed toward the assembly point. The cool night air was beginning to give way to a warm day, and a thin fog now hung over the valley. The sun was not yet risen, but the sky was turning lighter, bit by bit. If he'd read the charts right, the sun would rise just as they began their assault. He hoped the semi-darkness would provide them with some cover.

"Good morning, sir," Commander Appo greeted him as he arrived at the assembly area, which was filled with clone troopers, tanks, walkers, and the more unusual sight of Twi'lek fighters mounted on blurrgs.

"Good morning, Appo. Everything ready to go?"

"Yes, sir, just finishing the loading process."

"Keep it moving, we want to launch this offensive on schedule," Obi-Wan ordered. Appo saluted and jogged off, barking orders at some straggling support crew. Obi-Wan located his assigned HAVw A6 Juggernaut, the massive ten-wheeled turbo tank that would transport many of the Republic's troops into battle. The fast and heavily armored vehicles would be at the front of the line as they advanced across the valley.

As Obi-Wan checked in with the tank's crew, he saw Anakin come out of the bunker, now fully clad in his Jedi robes, his lightsaber bouncing at his hip. Obi-Wan excused himself and went over to Anakin. He thought his apprentice looked more composed, though he could still sense an imbalance in the energy that surrounded his pupil.

"Feeling better?" he asked as Anakin walked over to meet him.

"I'm fine," Anakin said, a bit defensively. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, and Anakin, seeing his master's face, took the edge out of his tone. "I'm ready," he said, more calmly.

"Good," Obi-Wan said, clapping a reassuring hand on Anakin's shoulder. "Better load up, here come the others." KeAnn and her Strikers were now approaching from the bunker, an imposing group of sixteen black-clad warriors, each armed to the teeth. KeAnn offered Obi-Wan a quick salute as she ordered her team into two of the Juggernauts. As they loaded up, Cham Syndulla and his small band of Twi'lek fighters rode up on their fearsome blurrgs, kicking up a wake of dust.

"General Kenobi," the Twi'lek said, bowing his head at Obi-Wan from above as he remained mounted on the blurrg. "My fighters are ready. We await your signal."

"It won't be long," Obi-Wan said as he watched the last of the clone troopers loading into the Juggernauts and slower AT-TEs, while the nimbler one-man recon walkers formed up alongside the bigger vehicles. "The Juggernauts will lead the assault. Keep your people with the walkers as we cross the valley, once we get in close range you can move up for the main assault." Cham gave a quick nod to show he understood.

"Commander Syndulla, are you sure you wouldn't prefer to ride with us?" KeAnn called out to Cham as he wheeled his blurrg around. He looked back at her, then up at the giant tank she stood beneath.

"My people will not ride into battle in these...contraptions," the Twi'Lek commander said, looking distrustfully at the Juggernaut.

"Suit yourself," KeAnn said with a shrug as she climbed into the belly of the tank. One by one the tanks and walkers fell into position, forming the main line of the assault. The support crews were starting to move off. It was time.

"Appo, all set?" Obi-Wan asked into his wristlink.

"Yes, sir." Obi-Wan looked over to Anakin, who was standing at the loading ladder of the adjacent Juggernaut. He gave his apprentice a nod, and Anakin disappeared inside the vehicle. Obi-Wan found a foothold and heaved himself up to the top of his Juggernaut. At the front of the vehicle, he knelt down and banged his fist on the hull three times, signalling to the driver to start the engines.

As the tank roared to life, so did the other vehicles around it. Obi-Wan stood to his full height and ignited his lightsaber. He held the blue blade aloft for a moment, then swung it forward, pointing it across the valley toward the Separatist line. At the signal, the Republic forces began their advance. The tank beneath him began to move, and Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and ran lightly toward the middle of the tank. He opened the top hatch and dropped inside, just as the first Separatist shell whistled overhead.

 

*******

 

Inside the Juggernaut, Anakin took the seat closest to the exit hatches. He wanted to be the first out when they deployed from the tank. He needed not only to expend the restless energy that had been building within him since his failed meditation, but also to prove to Obi-Wan, and to himself, that everything was fine. As the tank bounced over the rocky terrain, he clutched the gleaming metal tube of his lightsaber hilt in his hand, keeping his weapon at the ready.

The Republic troops crossed some invisible line, bringing them into range of the Separatists. Blaster bolts rocked the tank, but it was a sturdy metal beast. Anakin heard the Republic gunners began to return fire. He shifted in his seat, ready to bolt for the hatch as soon as the order came.

The sounds of the attack outside were getting louder and louder. Anakin braced his feet against the floor as the tank took a hard hit. They were getting closer. A few moments later the tank came to a crashing halt that threw half the troops inside onto the floor. This was it, they had reached the line. The indicator light above them began to flash and there was a sharp hiss as the driver released the top and bottom hatches.

"Let's go!" Anakin shouted back to the clones as he grabbed the rungs of the ladder and launched himself up through the top hatch, followed by the clone troopers. He landed on the top of the tank, his lightsaber already ignited. All around him blaster fire burned through the early morning haze, lighting up the still dusky sky. The tank had nearly rammed into the cliffside below the plateau where the Separatists were mounting their defense.

"Fives, set up on top of the tank and keep them off our flank and the rear," he ordered as the clones joined him on top of the vehicle, kneeling to try and stay below the line of fire. "Bolt, Zen, Camo, you're with me," he said, pointing to three clones in turn. With his troopers in tow, Anakin sprinted forward along the dorsal hull of the tank, deflecting blaster fire with his blue-bladed lightsaber.

From the ground it was easily fifteen meters to the top of the cliff, but from the dorsal side of the tank it was closer to five or six meters. Anakin leapt the distance easily, landing in a crouch. He deflected the fire directed at him as the three clones came up behind him, zipping up the cliffside with the help of their grappling guns.

The Separatist defenses were mounted in two tiers, in front of and above the cave entrances. The stepped plateau afforded the Separatists many excellent firing positions. At a glance he saw that none of the troops were clones. That struck him as odd, given their extreme proximity to a facility designed to produce clone soldiers, but there wasn't time to analyze that now. First, he had to deal with the Separatist artillery that was hammering the Republic troops below.

Anakin again charged forward, closing the short distance between the cliff's edge and the nearest Separatist gun. His lightsaber sizzled as he cut down the lightly armored Separatists manning the massive piece of artillery. The clones followed his lead, blasting any enemy troops that came within range. Anakin fought his way to the gun's controls and quickly dispatched the gunner.

"Zen, this one's yours," Anakin shouted down as the clone trooper pulled himself up to the gun's controls. Anakin gestured sharply at the guns above the caves. "Hammer the top of that cliff until those guns are gone." Zen nodded and swerved the gun around, aiming it's barrell back toward the Separatists. Anakin jumped down, rejoining the other two clone troopers on the ground.

"Do you have thermal detonators?" Both clone troopers nodded. "Good. I'll deal with the gun crews, you two follow behind to give me cover and take out the guns. One detonator down the barrell ought to do it."

"Yes, sir," Bolt and Camo said in unison.

"Follow me." Anakin took off down the line, the blue blade of his lightsaber a deadly blur as he attacked the next artillery placement. One by one they worked their way through the guns, laying waste to the enemy artillery. By the time the Separatists realized what was happening, there was only one gun still operating in their section of the plateau.

The last gun, however, was not going to go down without a fight. The gunner turned her weapon away from the troops coming up over the cliff edge and began to fire on Anakin and the two clones, while the guards at the base of the gun laid down a steady stream of fire.

Bolt and Camo ducked behind the bulk of the gun they had just disabled, but Anakin was several meters ahead of them and very much out in the open. Jedi though he was, he knew his lightsaber couldn't deflect an artillery blast, and there was no decent cover in front of him.

A shell hit dangerously close, knocking him sideways off his feet. He instinctively threw his hands over his head as dirt and debris from the blast sprayed over him. There was a slight ringing in Anakin's ears from the nearness of the blast. Not far from him he could see Bolt and Camo leaning out from behind the gun, laying down a stream of suppressing fire to try and cover for their commander.

"Get up sir, come on!" He heard Bolt shout, though his voice still sounded muffled. Anakin scrambled to his feet and zig-zagged toward them, but as he approached the gun his senses prickled with danger.

It all happened in an instant. Anakin never even heard the shell. He was hardly more than two meters from Bolt and Camo when the gun they'd taken cover behind went up in a ball of fire. Once again Anakin was thrown back by the blast. He hit the ground harder this time, and the impact knocked the air out of him.

As he struggled to catch his breath he looked back at where his troopers had been a moment before, but now there was only a charred crater in the earth. His anger flared a the loss of his troops, but the Separatists were still shelling his position. He crawled forward and threw himself into the crater knowing the shells were imprecise and unlikely to hit the same place twice.

He poked his head up just enough so that he could get a read on the situation. He saw that only two guns remained on his side of the plateau. Ramps were extending from the assault line below, with clones and mounted Twi'lek fighters running up them, blasters blazing. Not too far away he could make out the blue whirl of Obi-Wan lightsaber. But the remaining guns were taking their toll on the advancing troops.

Anakin took a moment to tap into the power of the Force, feeling its energy surround him. He allowed his anger in as well. Obi-Wan didn't approve of such things, but Anakin found his rage to be a powerful weapon. With the Force flowing through him, Anakin ignited his lightsaber and leapt from the crater, heading straight for the Separatist gun that had blown Bolt and Camo apart minutes before.

Seeing his approach, the gun started firing, but Anakin let the Force guide his actions this time. It was as though he could see each shell hit before it even left the barrel of the gun. He dodged and weaved his way forward. He saw the wide-eyed fear of the two Duros guards at the base of the gun as he closed in on them. They raised their blasters and fired, but he deflected the laser bolts away and his lightsaber hummed as it sliced through their bodies.

Above him, the Rodian gunner had abandoned the controls and was pointing a blaster pistol at Anakin's head, but the Jedi reached out a hand and the blaster zipped out of her fingers and into his own. Anakin fired three shots in quick succession, and the gunner dropped, lifeless, from her raised seat. Pulling himself up the gun's base, Anakin sliced the gun barrel above him with his lightsaber and stepped out of the way as it clattered to the ground.

Clambering up to the top of the now-destroyed gun, Anakin could see Obi-Wan and his clone troopers, as well as the Strikers and the Twi'lek fighters overrunning the remaining Separatist defenses along the cliff. Their first objective was complete. They had broken the Separatist line.

 

*******

 

As Obi-Wan led his troops up over the cliff, he saw Anakin's death-defying run against the last of the Separatists guns. Preoccupied though he was with deflecting blaster fire and directing his troops, he couldn't stop himself from watching as his apprentice ran headlong through the shell bursts, striking his enemies down with brutal, powerful efficiency. When he saw Anakin fight, he was never sure whether he should be awed or horrified. Maybe a bit of both.

With the last of the guns out of commission and the Republic troops and their Twi'lek allies pouring over the cliffside, the Separatist defenses began to break apart and retreat, moving further up the stepped terrain of the plateau. Obi-Wan sent a portion of his troops after them, but kept two companies behind with him in case a renewed attack came from the rear.

KeAnn appeared by his side, clad all in black and carrying a heavily modified blaster-rifle. She pulled down the black face-covering that concealed her nose and mouth, squinting through the swirling dust kicked up by the movement of troops. "They didn't put up too much of a fight, did they?" she asked Obi-Wan as they watched the Separatists fall back, pursued by the clones.

"No, they didn't," Obi-Wan agreed. It was worrying. If they were giving up the position so easily, they couldn't place much value on it. And if that was true, it indicated that the enemy had anticipated the attack on the cloning facility and made preparations accordingly.

"I didn't see a single clone among them either," KeAn said. Obi-Wan nodded. He hadn't either. It was odd. Something was wrong about the whole situation, but he knew they didn't have much choice but to press onward.

"That wasn't so hard," Anakin said as he jogged up to them. "And you were worried," he said, gently teasing his master.

"It isn't over yet," Obi-Wan reminded him, but Anakin only grinned. At least his sour mood from earlier seemed to have dissipated. Cham Syndulla joined the group, dismounting his fearsome blurrg and holding its reins. Appo and another clone Obi-Wan didn't recognize approached from the line of clones forming around the cave entrances. Appo saluted the trio as he snapped to attention.

"Sir, we've secured the perimeter," he reported to Obi-Wan.

"Good work," Obi-Wan said. "Who is this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the second clone, who wore a commander's insignia.

"Commander Cody, sir, 212th," the clone answered, saluting. "Director Organa sent us up from reserves to provide additional assistance. My unit was most recently assigned to Kessel, we have experience working in a subterranean environment. Thought we might be of service to you."

"Very good, commander," Obi-Wan said with a nod. "Right, Appo, you'll stay up top to guard the access points. Hold the perimeter and make sure no Separatists follow us in. Keep sharp, a counter-attack could come from almost any direction. Cody and his men will come with us into the caves."

Appo saluted and took off. Obi-Wan looked back over at the series of cave entrances dotting the far cliff. "We'll need to strategize our approach." He turned to the Twi'lek leader. "Commander Syndulla, your thoughts?"

"These caves were built by our ancestors," Syndulla said. "Traditionally, all the tunnels lead to a main chamber. That will be the deepest point in the system."

"And where we will likely find the cloning facility," Anakin noted.

"We will need to divide our forces in order to cover as many of the tunnels as we can," Obi-Wan said, but Syndulla shook his head.

"There are always two primary tunnels," the Twi'lek said, gesturing to markings above the cave entrances Obi-Wan hadn't noticed before. "It will be best to follow those, they will lead us to the center more quickly."

"We'll take this side," KeAnn said, pointing to the southern entrance.

"I will assign a squad of my people to go with you as guides," Syndulla said. "The rest of us will accompany the Jedi." KeAnn and Cham moved off to organize their people, while Commander Cody dashed off to gather his clone troopers. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Anakin moved toward the northern cave entrance, trying to assess it from the outside.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Obi-Wan said as he peered into the darkness of the cave. Anakin gave him a sideways glance, but remained silent as Cody and his clones, as well as Cham and a group of Twi'leks, joined them in front of the cave. Obi-Wan unclipped his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it. Beside him, Anakin did the same and the others in the group activated glowrods and helmet lamps. Obi-Wan tried to cast off his growing sense of unease.

"Let's go," Obi-Wan said, gesturing for the others to follow him. He stepped forward into the darkness, his way lit by the pale blue glow of his weapon. The rest of the group fell into step behind him, and they made their way forward in tense silence.

Deeper and deeper into the tunnel they went without any sign of any habitation at all, let alone a full-fledged cloning facility. Obi-Wan was beginning to wonder if the intelligence on this operation had been wrong from start to finish, but then Anakin, who had taken the lead came to a sudden halt.

The gentle glow of Anakin's lightsaber fell on the body of a human man, one Obi-Wan recognized as matching one of the Separatist clone templates, except that this clone had an extra, stunted arm growing from his left side.

"A deformed clone," he said as the others gathered around to see. "It's more likely to happen if their growth is accelerated too quickly."

"I wonder what he did to deserve that?" Anakin asked, pointing to the blaster hole in the man's chest.

"We must consider the possibility that the cloners killed him, rather than risk his capture," Obi-Wan said quietly. Beside him Obi-Wan heard one of the clones make a sound of disgust, and he heard Commander Cody say something about "savages" under his breath.

The dead clone was leaning against the wall near an open doorway, they first one they'd come across. Anakin took the lead, holding his blade aloft as he entered the room, followed closely by Cody and the clones. Obi-Wan remained in the main corridor with the Twi'lek's, peering into the room from outside to give the others room to investigate.

"Not much here," Anakin called back as he shifted around through the mess of discarded equipment that littered the chamber. "It looks like someone emptied this place out in a hurry." As Anakin made his way back toward the door, his boot kicked something and Obi-Wan heard the distinct clink of glass.

"What was that?" he asked, squinting in the low light. Anakin knelt down, feeling around on the floor with his hands.

"Got it," he said, standing up with several vials in his hands. "Multiple genetic templates...mostly human," Anakin said, examining the labels on each vial. Unlike the Republic, the Separatists didn't rely on just a single template for all their cloning, but most of their clones were human. Humans were, relatively speaking, among the less genetically complex species in the galaxy, and the primarily non-human Separatist leaders seemed more comfortable putting human clones out as cannon fodder than clones from their own species.

"Republic Intelligence will want those," Obi-Wan said. "Cody, bag them up." Anakin handed the vials over to Cody, who stored them in a pouch on his utility belt. Their search of the rest of the room yielded nothing, and the group soon moved on, continuing down the tunnel. For a brief moment, Obi-Wan wondered how deep under ground they really were, but he quickly realized he was better off not thinking about it.

At last the tunnel began to widen and then open up into a vast cavern, the central chamber Syndulla had told them about. Durasteel walkways crisscrossed every section of the chamber, dividing it into many sections. Obi-Wan could make out the remnants of cloning pods and other equipment, but everything was shot through with blaster fire. It seemed someone had already done their job for them.

He heard a sound from across the cavern and a moment later KeAnn and the other half of the team emerged from their tunnel. They came across the join Obi-Wan and the others, KeAnn in the lead, wearing a headlamp.

"Anything on your side?" Obi-Wan asked.

"No, nothing the way we came in except a bunch of abandoned equipment," she said. "It seems like they've cleared everything out."

"They must have known we were coming," Anakin said. "They won't have left anything valuable behind to be taken or destroyed." Obi-Wan could hear the frustration in his voice. He felt some of it too. Afterall, they had hoped to take the facility by surprise and gather useful intel before destroying it. Their mission now seemed pointless.

"We're still getting lifesign readings from deeper in," Commander Cody said, coming up beside Obi-Wan and holding a scanner in his hand. Obi-Wan nodded. Cody was right, he could feel that they were not alone down here, and the cavern was enormous. They needed to explore it more thoroughly.

"Spread out, I want every inch of this place covered," Obi-Wan ordered. "Set charges at regular intervals, we want to make sure they can never return to this facility, and keep an eye out for anything that may have been left behind."

The group fanned out across the cavern, stepping careful amongst the debris and the unfamiliar walkways. Obi-Wan stayed on the main level and moved toward the back of the cavern, as did Cody, Anakin, and KeAnn. He could sense, as he suspected KeAnn and Anakin could as well, that whatever presence he felt was emanating from the rear of the chamber.

"Sir, over here," Cody called to Obi-Wan. He walked over to Cody, who was standing in front of a small cell at the very back of the cavern. Anakin and KeAnn followed, curious to see what Cody had discovered. When Obi-Wan saw what was inside the cell, he took a step back in shock.

"He's a Republic clone," KeAnn said quietly as the lights of the Cody's helmet lit up figure inside.

"Trooper, what is your designation?" Cody asked through the metal grate that served as a door to the cell. The clone inside looked at him, but said nothing.

"Trooper!" Cody shouted this time, banging the butt of his blaster rifle against the door of the cell. Obi-Wan jumped at the sound. The man inside, who was cowering in the corner, jumped at the sound. "What's your designation?"

"CT...CT…" the clone's face was crunched in concentration, but then a light seemed to go off inside his mind. "CT-7567."

"I don't believe it," Obi-Wan said as he stared at the huddled figure on the cell floor. "It's Rex."

 

*******

 

"Who is he?" Anakin asked, confused.

"He was one of my captains," Obi-Wan said quietly, still staring at the clone. "He was with me at Geonosis." Anakin's eyes went wide. He knew what that meant. How well he knew the story of how the clone troopers had betrayed the Jedi in that battle. The investigation conducted by the Republic had concluded it was a malfunction with the inhibitor chip and corrected the problem in all the clones.

"What is he doing here?" KeAnn asked.

"Disengage the barrier," Obi-Wan ordered.

"Sir?" Cody asked, clearly uncertain about whether this was a good idea.

"Do it," Obi-Wan said firmly.

Anakin watched with trepidation as the door opened and his master entered the cell. Obi-Wan knelt in front of the clone and gently touched his arm. The man recoiled, and Anakin could only imagine what he might have endured as a prisoner in this place.

"Rex, it's me. General Kenobi," Obi-Wan said gently. The clone started at him blankly for a few moments, but suddenly his eyes lit up with recognition.

"Kenobi...Kenobi," he said, repeating the name to himself. Obi-Wan nodded, smiling. Anakin felt some of the tension in the room ease off. But then, Rex lunged. He went straight for Obi-Wan's throat. Obi-Wan tried to spring back, but he clearly hadn't anticipated this turn of events and Rex had him in the corner.

Anakin saw the clone's strong fingers closing around Obi-Wan's throat and sprang into action, grabbing Rex around the middle and then throwing himself backwards, successfully pulling Rex away from Obi-Wan. The two of them went sprawling, and Anakin hurried to find his footing as Rex got up as well and charged at him.

Before Rex could reach him, Cody and three other clone troopers jumped on the rogue clone and held him down, though it was clear it was a struggle. KeAnn pulled her blaster pistol from her hip holster and leveled it at Rex.

"No!" Obi-Wan said, holding up his hand in protest. KeAnn looked over at him, exasperated.

"I'm only going to stun him."

"The stress of that could kill him," Obi-Wan said.

"He just tried to kill you, in case you didn't notice," KeAnn said, not lowering her weapon.

"He needs medical attention. We have to get him out to the surface," he said. Personally, Anakin thought KeAnn had the right idea. "Get some binders," Obi-Wan told him. Anakin retrieved a set of binders from one of the Strikers and handed them over to Cody, who cuffed Rex's hands behind his back. Obi-Wan came out of the cell, massaging his neck and looking worriedly at the clone prisoner.

"Commander, he isn't the only person down here," one of the Strikers said to KeAnn, holding up his glowrod. The device threw a soft light on rows of cells extending into the back of the cavern, holding dozens, perhaps hundreds of people. They were clones alright, but not Republic ones. They were clones from the Separatist templates.

"Why are they here?" Cham Syndulla asked, coming up closer to one of the caged clones.

"They all have some kind of physical deviation," Cody said, joining Cham. Anakin looked more closely and saw that Cody was right. Like the clone they'd encountered in the entry tunnel, these clones all had some type of deformity. "They must have been deemed unfit for service."

"But why leave them behind?" Anakin asked.

"Maybe the Separatists decided they weren't worth the trouble," Cody said.

"Please, please help us," one of the clones said, lacing his hands through the metal grate over his cell. His cheeks were gaunt. Anakin wondered how long they had been trapped down here.

"We have to get them out of here," Obi-Wan said.

"This is no time for a rescue mission," KeAnn said in a frustrated whisper, so only Obi-Wan and Anakin could hear. "We are supposed to be destroying this facility."

"She has a point," Anakin said. He felt some sympathy for the clones, but they were still Separatists, still the enemy. Obi-Wan shot him a look of warning.

"That is not the Jedi way."

"Fine, but whatever you are going to do, let's do it quickly. We shouldn't be down here any longer than necessary." The words were no sooner out of KeAnn's mouth than the cavern shook and a muffled boom sounded from above. Everyone went quiet. A moment later, there was another loud tremor.

"Sir! Sir!" Appo's frantic voice came in through Obi-Wan's wristlink.

"Appo, what's going on?"

"They're bombing us! They came out of nowhere, I don't...we can't hold them!" The panic in the clone commander's voice was unnerving. "They've taken the northern entrance. You have to get out of there, he'll reach you in minutes."

"Who, Appo? Who is coming for us?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Grievous."


	3. Outflanked

**Outflanked**

As the name of the dreaded Separatist leader echoed through the cavern, the room went momentarily silent. Obi-Wan was suddenly very aware of his own breathing. He felt cold fear beginning to creep into the minds of those around him. His eyes wandered to the cells that held the imprisoned clones. It was all clear to him now. The enemy's trap was well laid, and they were caught in it.

"Sir?" It was Cody who broke the tense silence, his helmet under his arm, looking expectantly at Obi-Wan. The Jedi turned his eyes from Cody to the north tunnels, where the distant echo of footfalls were already audible. Obi-Wan looked back at Cody. It was time to test the underground expertise of the 212th.

"We have to seal the north tunnels," Obi-Wan said. "Anything to slow them down." Cody nodded.

"On it, sir." He pulled his helmet back on and began to shout orders at his clone troopers, who hurried to place detonators around the tunnel entrances.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said, turning to his apprentice, "get those cells open, we need to evacuate the prisoners. Commander Syndulla will assist you." Anakin gave his master a quick nod and gestured to the Twi'leks to follow his lead. He ignited his lightsaber and began to cut down the cell doors. Cham and his troops began to blast the locks on the other doors and haul out the imprisoned clones.

"What about the rest of us?" KeAnn asked, watching the collapsed cave entrances tremor as the Separatist troops behind them tried to break through. Obi-Wan knew it would only be a matter of time before they did just that.

"Prepare for imminent attack," Obi-Wan ordered. He was sure he could now hear the sounds of a mining drill coming from inside the sealed tunnels.

"We can't defend this position, we have to get out of here," KeAnn said, her tone laced with urgency.

"I will not leave these people to die." Obi-Wan said. KeAnn glared at him, her jaw clenched. Obi-Wan glowered back. He wasn't going to change his mind, and she knew it.

"I really hope you know what you're doing, Kenobi," she said, still staring daggers at him, but she moved off and began organizing her Strikers into defensive positions. Obi-Wan looked on as Cody and his team blew the entrance of the main north tunnel, sending a cloud of dust through the cavern. Within minutes the five northernmost tunnels were blocked by walls of rocky rubble.

"That's enough, Cody," Obi-Wan said as the clones moved to place their charges on a sixth tunnel. "Leave the rest open, we have to hope that our troops on the surface can hold the other entrances. Post scouts in the adjacent tunnels."

On the other side of the cavern, the cells were now empty and the clone prisoners huddled together, surrounded by the Twi'leks. Obi-Wan turned to Cham. "Commander Syndulla, I need you and your people to escort the prisoners to the surface. Stay in the farthest tunnel on the south side." Cham looked around at the other members of the assault team, positioned around the cavern, their blasters trained on the tunnel entrances, ready for a fight.

"We do not wish to retreat from battle," he said.

"Believe me, there is plenty of fighting to be done topside." Syndulla continued to look skeptical. "There is no dishonor in this task, commander," Obi-Wan reassured him. After a moment, Cham nodded. He called to his troops in his own tongue, and soon the Twi'leks and clone prisoners were on the move, making slow progress toward the surface. The group moved slowly, hindered by the prisoners, many of whom were in such poor condition they could barely walk. Obi-Wan saw three Twi-leks struggling to contain Rex, who was still resisting his restraints.

"It's going to take them some time to get out of here," Anakin said, coming to stand beside Obi-Wan. A series of loud bangs and tremors came from the other side of the cavern, where the Separatist forces were now trying to break through. "Maybe more time than we have."

"We can hold them off," Obi-Wan said, more confidently than he actually felt. No sooner had he said it than one of the clone scouts Cody had sent into the still open tunnels came sprinting back into the cavern.

"They're coming through!" the clone shouted as he ran up to Obi-Wan. "Sir, they're breaking through the walls between the tunnels!"

"Sir, we can block the next tunnel," Cody offered.

"If we keep that up it won't be long before we're trapped down here," Anakin pointed out.

"No, Cody, Anakin is right, we can't cut off anymore escape routes." More explosions emanated from within the northernmost tunnel that was still open. They didn't have long now. Obi-Wan's eyes wandered the cavern as he tried to think of a way forward. As he looked around, his vision settled on the charges set all around the cavern, the charges he had ordered placed there before Grievous' attack. A plan began to form in his mind.

"Cody, do you have the detonator for the charges we set earlier?" Cody nodded and produced a small, silver cylinder from his utility belt and handing it to Obi-Wan. "Take your clones, cover Cham and the prisoners, we'll deal with Grievous."

"I suppose you'd like us to stay and keep you company?" KeAnn asked, coming over to Obi-Wan as she watched Cody and the others go. It was only the Strikers and the Jedi now.

"We have to give Cham more time," Obi-Wan said. "The longer we can keep the battle in the cavern, the better their chance of escape. You and your Strikers, you're the best fighters I have."

"You're not going to flatter me into accepting a suicide mission," she said stonily.

"It isn't a suicide mission," he insisted. The sounds coming from the tunnel were growing louder. "This is a small space, relatively speaking," Obi-Wan said, gesturing around them, "they can't bring a whole army down here. If we can just keep them away from the south tunnels long enough for the others to get clear, we can follow them up and blow this place," Obi-Wan explained, holding up Cody's detonator.

KeAnn still looked skeptical and seemed about to protest, but she was interrupted by a resounding boom. They all looked in the direction of the sound. It had come from the open tunnel closest to the ones the clones had sealed off. A chill ran across Obi-Wan's skin. The enemy was here.

 

*******

 

Instinctively, Anakin dove behind an upturned metal table. He was shortly joined by KeAnn and Obi-Wan. His heart was racing. He could hear the unmistakable metal clang that signaled the approach of General Grievous, as well as the thunderous footsteps of what sounded like hundreds of soldiers.

"Keep out of sight, we'll draw them into the open," KeAnn whispered to them. She ducked out from their hiding spot and ran to another section of the cavern. Anakin poked his head over the table, squinting in the darkness. Beside him, Obi-Wan did the same. It was very difficult to see, but he could just make out the ivory outline of Grievous' metal exoskeleton as he came into the cavern, followed by row after row of Separatist clones.

"Well, now we know where all the clones from this facility went," he whispered to Obi-Wan.

"Indeed," Obi-Wan whispered back. As Grievous surveyed the dark cavern, the two Jedi slunk back down behind their cover. Obi-Wan held Cody's detonator out to Anakin. "Anakin, if it comes to it, you get the others out and set off those charges. Do you understand?" Anakin blinked at Obi-Wan, sharking his head.

"I'm not going to -" he started, but Obi-Wan cut him off.

"Do you understand?" Anakin stared hard at Obi-Wan for a moment, but he could see his master was not going to back down.

"Yes, master." He lowered his eyes, resigned, and took the detonator, clipping it to his utility belt. Obi-Wan gave him a brief nod of approval. Then, the first shots rang out.

Anakin wasn't sure if the Strikers or the Separatists started the firing, but as soon as one blaster went off the entire chamber suddenly filled with red laser bolts, bouncing dangerously off the rocky walls. He and Obi-Wan ignited their lightsabers and emerged from their cover, deflecting blaster bolts back at the enemy.

As soon as Grievous saw the two Jedi, he headed for them, spinning two electrostaffs in his mechanical arms, his MagnaGuards in tow. Anakin raised his blade and centered himself in the Force. Time seemed to slow slightly as he channeled the energy field around him. As Grievous closed in on them, he knew exactly when and where to strike.

Springing forward, Anakin jammed his blue blade into the whirling rotation of one of the electrostaffs and stopped it cold, the two weapons sizzling as they made contact. Beside him, Obi-Wan did the same, forcing the cyborg general to meet them blow for blow. The two Jedi pressed forward in sync, forcing Grievous back, but then the MagnaGuards attacked.

Anakin broke contact with Grievous' weapon as he dodged out of the way of the electrostaff of a MagnaGuard. He shifted his offensive, leaving Obi-Wan to contend with the general alone as he took on the droid guards. They were well programmed, but no match for a Jedi. Anakin dispatched the first one with a well-placed cut to its metallic neck, then used the Force to send the other soaring into the rock wall, crumpling it.

Enemy clones continued to pour into the cavern. Anakin could see the Strikers spread across the space, a classic tactic to make their numbers seem larger than they were. A few of them had climbed up onto the platforms above to serve as snipers. Smoke grenades were going off everywhere, making it harder for the Separatists to get their bearings. It was a valiant effort, but Anakin knew it was only a matter of time before their small force was overwhelmed.

Clone troopers swarmed into the space between him and where Obi-Wan and Grievous were fighting, but Anakin cut his way through, his blade sizzling and slicing through anything that got in his way. Their best chance to survive was to destroy the enemy's leader. And more than that, he knew that if they could kill Grievous, it might very well mean the end of the war.

Caught in the midst of the firefight, Anakin sprinted up a half-collapsed platform and leapt across the cavern, somersaulting through the air to land directly behind General Grievous. Refocusing his energy, he swung his blade mightily at his enemy, and Grievous only just got one of his electrostaffs around in time. Taking advantage of the distraction, Obi-Wan lunged in and Grievous growled in pain as one of his metal claws clattered to the floor.

Infuriated, the cyborg kicked out at the Jedi and caught Obi-Wan in the chest, sending him flying. Anakin felt his anger threatening to boil over as Obi-Wan hit the ground, hard. He slashed viciously at Grevious, forcing the general toward the back corner of the room, but in his haste he miscalculated his next blow. Grievous dodged it and came at Anakin like lightning, grabbing the young Jedi's wrist.

Anakin yelped in pain as the metal claw closed around his arm. Grievous' machinations did not allow his face to change expression, but Anakin could see the hateful glee in the eyes of the Kaleesh warrior as he began to twist Anakin's arm. His lightsaber dropped from his hand and rolled away into the darkness.

With another claw, Grievous grabbed his throat. Anakin clutched at Grevious' hold with his free hand, trying to pry away his enemy's lethal fingers. Spots appeared in Anakin's vision, but just as he was about to pass out, a memory flashed before him, a memory of his mother. He saw her, standing over a smuggler who didn't want to pay her for a shipment, her fingers outstretched toward him, and the man pulling desperately at his collar, unable to breathe.

He focused on Grievous' windpipe and clenched his fist. He watched as the general's yellow eyes went wide with fear. The general's grip loosened and he dropped Anakin, who fell to the floor with a thud, breaking his concentration and releasing Grevious from the choke-hold. Grievous jumped on him, pummeling Anakin with his metal fists. Anakin threw up his arms, trying to protect his head from the onslaught, but then Grievous suddenly flew off of him.

There was a flash of blue light as Obi-Wan leapt past him and charged Grievous, who grabbed his electrostaff to defend himself. Anakin pushed himself up, wincing in pain. He grabbed the blaster rifle off a dead clone beside him and aimed the weapon at Grievous, but he didn't dare fire for fear he would hit Obi-Wan.

"Skywalker!" He heard KeAnn call out to him and turned just in time to see a shining metal tube spinning through the air toward him. He reached out his hand and caught it. He'd thought she'd found his lightsaber, but the hilt was unfamiliar in his hand and when he ignited the weapon, the blade glowed a bright green. It wasn't his weapon, but it would do.

He ran toward Obi-Wan and Grievous and rejoined the fight. He fell back into the Force and into sync with Obi-Wan. They worked together, striking and parrying, forcing Grievous to play offense and defense simultaneously. With a particularly forceful strike, Anakin knocked the general off balance, and he took the opportunity to grab his enemy's electrostaff with his free hand. As Grievous struggled to free his weapon from Anakin's grasp, he created the perfect opening for Obi-Wan, and Anakin saw it.

"Obi-Wan, now!" he shouted, holding onto the shaft of the electrostaff for dear life. Obi-Wan saw it too, that Grievous was leaning back precariously, exposing his torso, the last remaining portion of his living self apart from his eyes and brain. Anakin smelled searing flesh as Obi-Wan struck true, slicing Grievous right through the middle.

For a moment, Grievous stood, stunned. Then, slowly, he reached out toward his Jedi enemies. They both stepped back a pace and as he stretched toward them his mechanical body collapsed, crumpling into two halves on the floor.

"Come on!" KeAnn shouted to them from across the cavern. The place was nearly overrun with clones. Their leader was lost, but they continued to fight. Anakin could see KeAnn and the surviving Strikers at the entrance to the main south tunnel. He could see that the Strikers had now sealed off every tunnel but that one. He and Obi-Wan ran toward her together, fighting their way through the clone forces who fell in droves beneath their Jedi blades.

"Let's blow this place and get out of here," Anakin said as they came to the tunnel. Tossing KeAnn's lightsaber back to her, he reached for the detonator on his belt, but his hand came up empty. It wasn't there.

From the far side of the cavern, he heard a rasping, cruel laugh. An ivory claw reached into the dirt and dragged what remained of General Grievous into the pale light. In his other claw, he held the detonator.

"You lose, Jedi," Grievous wheezed. Anakin launched himself toward Grievous, but it was too late. The Separatist general's metal finger closed over the ignition switch, and the whole world exploded.

 

*******

 

"Anakin, no!" Obi-Wan reached out to try and stop Anakin from going back into the cavern, but something grabbed the back of his tunic and yanked him away just as a massive pile of rocks collapsed where he had stood only a moment earlier. He fell back against something softer than the ground.

"Get off!" KeAnn said, and he found himself unceremoniously pushed onto the hard rock floor. Dust choked everything. He couldn't see, and his ears were still ringing from the explosion. He coughed, his lungs desperate to clear themselves of the debris-filled air. Struggling to his feet, he moved forward until he found the wall of the tunnel, which he leaned against, waiting for the dust to clear. Someone appeared next to him.

"KeAnn?" he asked through the mouthful of dust. He thought he saw a nod.

"We have to keep moving," she said between coughs. Obi-Wan shook his head.

"I have to get to Anakin." The dust was finally beginning to settle and he could now see KeAnn's dirt-caked face and the exasperated expression on it.

"Do you see that pile of rocks? It's not going to happen."

"He's still alive," he insisted. Before she could argue, one of her Striker joined them, his wrist-lamp bathing them in light.

"Commander, we're all accounted for, except Thaniel and Xon who went down in the firefight."

"Dix, take everyone up through the tunnel," KeAnn instructed him. "Find Bail and tell him we've got someone trapped down here, we need a drill or something."

"Right away, commander." The man moved off and Obi-Wan turned toward the wall of rock that stood between him and his apprentice. He was sure Anakin was alive on the other side. He could feel it.

"Kenobi!" His wristlink suddenly exploded with noise and static, interrupting his thoughts. "Come in, General Kenobi! Are you there?" It was the voice of Bail Organa.

"Director, I'm here," he responded. "Most of the team is out, but Anakin is trapped inside the main chamber. We could certainly use your help."

"Negative. We can't get to you where you are, our position is overrun," Bail said, his tone frantic. "Our bombers are incoming. They have orders to target the tunnel openings."

"Blast it, Bail, tell them we're still down here!" KeAnn said, grabbing Obi-Wan's wrist and shouting into the comm.

"They know," Bail said darkly. "The order came from Palpatine himself." KeAnn groaned, turning away and leaning with both hands against the tunnel wall.

"How long do we have?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Ten minutes at most."

 

*******

 

Anakin came to in near darkness. His left leg throbbed painfully and when he tried to move it the pain only increased. He squinted into the darkness, trying to see if there was a way out. A few pinpricks of light streamed in from above where the top of the cavern was beginning to give way. The light glinted on something metallic a few meters away. It was his lightsaber.

Reaching out his hand, he called on the Force, and the hilt of his weapon soared across the cavern and into his free hand. He ignited the blade, bathing the cavern in an eery blue. His heart sank as his lightsaber illuminated the massive pile of rocky rubble blocking the tunnel.

His left leg was a mangled mess. He was certain the bones below his knee were shattered. He wasn't going to walk out of here on his own power, even if he could reopen the tunnel. The cavern tremored. It wouldn't be long before the entire thing collapsed. He dragged himself toward the sealed tunnel, gritting his teeth through the pain. He pulled himself up by leaning on a large rock at the edge of the rockslide, careful not to put any of his weight on his injured leg.

Anakin closed his eyes, attempting to center himself in the Force. The calm he sought proved elusive. He reached out to the rocks in front of the tunnel, willing them to move. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead from the effort. The pebbles around him began to shift and rise, but no matter how hard he concentrated, the large boulders he most needed to move remained firmly wedged in place.

He opened his eyes, gasping to catch his breath. He felt his chest tighten with panic. His mind raced frantically. He had to get out of here. Clenching his hand in a fist, he angrily slammed the wall of rubble as he cried out in frustration.

He thought of Padme. Her image swam before him, her sleeping form in the morning as he lay awake next to her, watching the first rays of Scipio's sun stream in, dappling her face in light, making her chestnut curls shimmer.

The creeping sensation of fear now became a flood. He couldn't lose her, he couldn't die here without seeing her again. He had been a fool to ever leave her. Regret washed over him as he thought back to the day he decided to join the Jedi, and quickly that regret turned to anger.

Who knew how long it would take them to find him? Perhaps they never would. He knew the Jedi would leave him here to die if they had to. His frustration flared at the thought. No matter how strong his connection to the Force, no matter how skilled he was in combat, he was still just another dispensable cog in the wheel of war. It was up to him to find a way out, by whatever means necessary. He knew what he had to do.

Closing his eyes once more, he tapped back into the power of the Force, but this time into a part of it he usually tried to shut out. He sought out the cold center of his anger that always burned within him, the place where he held his most painful memories: his father's murder, Owen's departure, and the death of his mother at the hands of Darth Maul. He took his feelings of powerlessness, despair, and abandonment and channeled them into a powerful rage. This time, when the rocks began to shift, they did not stop.

 

 

*******

 

"Obi-Wan, we can't stay here," KeAnn said, trying to coax him away and towards the safety of the surface.

"There has to be a way," he muttered, mostly to himself. "There's always a way."

"That rock pile has to be three meters thick. No one can move something like that. Not you, not me, probably not even Master Yoda," she said. Still, he did not move. He felt her hand on his shoulder. "Obi-Wan, there's nothing you can do for him now," she said gently. Then, the wall began to move. Obi-Wan stepped back as the tunnel began to shake. The rocks were moving, slowly but surely, as though they were being scooped up by an invisible hand on the other side.

"Are you doing that?" KeAnn asked nervously. Obi-Wan shook his head. Then, he felt it, the power on the other side of the wall. It was immense, the strength of it shocked him, but it was also laced with darkness. It felt as though a terrible shadow was cast over the very essence of the Force around them. He looked over at KeAnn and from the look on her face he knew she sensed it too.

The rubble blocking the tunnel raced away from them back into the cavern, and as the path cleared, Obi-Wan could see Anakin, propped against a boulder, his hand outstretched, the Force swirling around him like a storm, carrying thousands of pebbles and rocks of all sizes with it. Then, suddenly, the rocks dropped thunderously to the ground, and Obi-Wan rushed forward as his apprentice collapsed.

"Anakin!" He ran to the young man and knelt at his side. He put a hand on his chest and felt Anakin's chest was still moving, but his eyes were closed and he looked pale. His left leg was an awful mess of bone and blood.

Moving quickly, Obi-Wan grabbed two nearby blaster rifles and positioned them on either side of broken leg. KeAnn handed him a few scrap bandages from her med pouch and he tied the rifles to the leg to make a splint. Anakin groaned as Obi-Wan pulled each bandage tight.

"Hang on, Anakin, just hang on," he said.

"Padme…" Anakin murmured, his eyes still closed. Obi-Wan froze and looked over at KeAnn. She glanced back at him, but then shook her head.

"He's delusional," she said. She took a syrette of symoxin from her med pouch and jabbed it into Anakin's shoulder. "Can you carry him?"

"Yes, help me get him up." KeAnn grabbed Anakin under the arms and heaved him up as Obi-Wan bent beneath him, getting him into position over his shoulder. He straightened out carefully, making sure not to dislodge his passenger.

"If we run, we can still beat the bombers," KeAnn said, checking her chrono. Obi-Wan shifted Anakin slightly, making sure he was secure.

"I'm right behind you."


	4. Caesura

**Caesura**

Adrenaline pumped through Obi-Wan as he ran behind KeAnn, keeping a tight grip on Anakin's limp form as they ran up the tunnel. He squinted against the light as he emerged from the cave and into the crossfire of a raging battle. There was a snap-hiss, and he saw the green blade of KeAnn's lightsaber ignite ahead of him.

"I see our ships!" she shouted as she dropped back, deflecting a series of laser bolts away from Obi-Wan and Anakin. Obi-Wan looked and saw a small group of gunships circled up about fifty meters ahead, the last remnant of the Republic forces in the area. The rest of plateau was swarming with Separatists.

KeAnn ducked behind an overturned scout walker and Obi-Wan joined her, leaning against the walker to help him hold Anakin's weight. Everywhere he looked he saw the signs of the lost battle. The plateau was littered with downed gunships, blasted transports, and hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of bodies. The scent of death hung in the air.

"General Kenobi, come in!" Bail Organa's voice rang out once again from Obi-Wan's wrist link.

"We're here, director," Obi-Wan responded, shouting to be heard over the blaster fire. Then he heard a new sound: the distant roar of starship engines. He turned to look at its source and saw squadron after squadron of Republic bombers advancing on their position.

"For Force sake, tell him to hurry up!" KeAnn said as her eyes turned to the fast-approaching bomber squadrons.

"We've got a visual. Stay where you are, we'll come to you," Bail ordered. Obi-Wan watched as the gunships took off and stayed low, heading in their direction. The sound of the bomber engines was growing louder every second. Bail's gunship dropped to the ground in front of them just as the first bombs hit the northern section of the plateau.

"Come on, come on!" Bail shouted to them, waving them onto the gunship. Obi-Wan threw one arm around Anakin's waist and the other around his legs as he leapt up and sprinted as fast as he could toward the ship, with KeAnn providing cover behind him. As soon as Obi-Wan's boots touched the floor of the hold the engines revved and the gunship began to rise.

Arms reached out to pull them in as the gunship began a very swift ascent. Someone took Anakin from Obi-Wan's shoulder as the Jedi Knight collapsed on the floor of the gunship. The door of the gunship was still open, and there was a flash of blue light as the rest of the plateau was pounded with proton bombs. Through the Force, Obi-Wan felt an intense fear roil through the Separatist troops below them. Everyone braced themselves as the ship rocked in the shockwave, but the gunship held its course.

When the shockwave passed, Obi-Wan crept to the edge of the gunship and looked down at Ryloth. Where only moments before the rocky cliffs were overrun with enemy troops now there seemed to be only scorched earth. The fear of the troops below was gone, replaced with a terrible nothingness. The sky was thick with Republic ships. Obi-Wan realized Palpatine must have called in virtually every bomber in the fleet to decimate the plateau to such an extent.

"Stars' end," KeAnn murmured as she looked out at the destruction. "Most of the Separatist army must have been down there."

"Another triumph for General Palpatine," Bail said grimly as the gunship door finally slid shut, blocking their view of the devastation below. But the closing of the doors brought Obi-Wan no relief. The pain and suffering of both his enemies and his allies remained, flowing around him through the Force. He looked around the hold, crowded with people, many of whom were wounded. The price of the battle had been high.

Beside him two med droids set to work on Anakin, one making a bacta cast for his wounded leg while the other tended to the numerous cuts and burns on the rest of the young man's body. However, it wasn't his apprentice's physical well-being that weighed on his mind. Anakin's wounds would heal, but Obi-Wan's thoughts drifted back to the cavern and the powerful darkness he'd felt there, a darkness he knew Anakin was the source of. The Republic may have won the day, yet Obi-Wan felt anything but victorious.

 

*******

 

Like many other residents of Coruscant, Padme awoke in the small hours of the morning to a steady stream of blaring speeder horns and jubilant shouting. Wondering what all the fuss was about, she dragged herself from bed, and looked down into the city from her bedroom window. There was some sort of celebration in the streets, but nothing to indicate it's cause. Bleary eyed, she powered up the service droid to make her a cup of tea before curling up in an armchair and activating her HoloNet projector.

"Breaking news out of Ryloth," the news anchor said as the projection cycled through a series of holos showing an intense battle.  _Ryloth?_  Padme wondered, sipping her tea. Tired though she was, she was reasonably certain no one had reported any offensive on Ryloth to the Defense Committee.

"Reports coming from the planet over the last hour indicate a major Republic victory," the anchor continued. He stopped, holding his hand to his earpiece as some new story came through the line. His eyes went wide for a moment, then he turned back to the holocam. "I...I've just received word that General Grievous is dead." Padme sat bolt upright, nearly spilling her drink. She was awake now.

"Admiral Trench has surrendered," the anchor continued, his voice shaking slightly. "The majority of the Separate forces are now either destroyed or in Republic custody." Padme jumped out of her chair and dashed back to her room. She drained her mug and began to hurriedly get dressed, cursing the elaborate nature of her Senatorial garb. As she flung her cloak around her shoulders, her comm beeped to let her know someone was at the front door. Still pulling on her ankle boots, she hurried to the foyer and opened the door to see Breha, who walked into the apartment before Padme could invite her in.

"You've heard the news?" Breha asked, her face ashen. Padme nodded. Breha turned to the holoprojector, which was still on and now showed images of the surface of Ryloth, parts of it's surface burnt beyond all recognition. The anchor was now reporting the heavy losses on both sides. "The destruction is unbelievable," Breha said softly as they both stared at the flashing images of death displayed before them.

"Is Bail there?" Padme asked gently. Breha sunk onto the sofa, still staring at the holos.

"I don't know," she answered, her voice strained. She looked back at Padme. "But there's a very good chance that he is." Padme only nodded. She was not going to offer her friend false comfort and tell her everything would be fine. They had both been through enough to know better.

"They certainly kept this one under wraps," Padme said, taking a seat next to Breha. "Even the Defense Committee wasn't brought in on it. I can't believe they managed it with an operation this size."

"The Senate won't like being left in the dark," Breha said knowingly, but Padme shook her head.

"Most of them won't care, if it means the end of the war," she said. Breha only shrugged.

"Reports indicate that the 501st Battalion was at the center of the action on Ryloth," the anchor's voice said, as aerial images of some sort of half-collapsed cave system appeared before them. At his mention of the 501st, Padme's attention was drawn back to the HoloNet. Whatever had happened in those caves, it did not seem to have ended well.

"The 501st is Kenobi's battalion isn't it?" Breha asked.

Padme nodded, watching the holos intently for any sign of Anakin, anything that might let her know that he had come through, but there was nothing. She leaned back into the sofa with a heavy sigh. "Everything was so much easier when we were part of the action."

"If all these reports are true, the action is all but over," Breha pointed out, but Padme wasn't so certain. They'd had the Separatists on the ropes before, and each time the Republic had failed to put an end to the war. She'd learned not to get her hopes up.

"I'll believe there's peace when I see it," she said. "You never know what enemy might still be out there, just waiting for us to let down our guard."

 

*******

 

Maul lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, his eyes squinting against the glaring lights of the brig. He had overcome so much in order to return to the Separatists, only to find himself made their prisoner. The med station was all but deserted, he sensed only a few scattered life forms were left on board. The cell that held him was not well-made, but with the power cells that supported his leg braces drained of power, he couldn't leave even if he broke free of his prison.

As Maul ruminated angrily on his predicament, there were a series of clanging sounds in the hall outside, followed by shouts and the sound of blaster-fire. Maul sat up and pulled himself closer to the bars covering the front of the cell as the door at the end of the hall opened.

"You can't go in there, you don't have the proper authorization from General Grievous!" He heard a service droid say to some unseen person.

"Grievous is dead," a voice replied coldly. A blaster shot rang out, and the head of the service droid skittered across the floor past Maul's cell. The sounds of numerous hard-soled boots reverberated down the hall and a moment later Maul was looking up at a group of heavily armed soldiers.

"You're Maul, aren't you?" the female Falleen standing at the front of the group asked him. She had shining green skin and wore her long black hair in a topknot. Maul noted with interest that her unrefined accent identified her as someone from the roughest section of the Coruscant underworld.

"I am Darth Maul," he answered coldly, displeased with her casual tone. He could tell that she did not fear him.

"We heard a rumour you were here," she said, looking him over. "I'm not sure you live up to the hype." Maul's anger flared, but he kept it well-hidden. If he was ever going to escape this place, he would need allies.

"You've come from Ryloth," he said, noting the orange dust on their clothes and armor. "Grievous' failure is complete," he said quietly to himself.

"I'll say. The Separatist army is gone. We're all that's left." she said, gesturing to the forty or so soldiers behind her.

"And you came here hoping to find a powerful Sith Lord to ally yourself with, only to find a cripple in a cell." The disappointment in the eyes of the soldiers told the story plainly enough. Still, the gears of Maul's mind were beginning to turn. Perhaps all was not lost. "What is your name?" he asked the leader.

"Vigdis," she answered.

"You are right to judge me harshly, Vigdis," Maul said. "I am a broken man. But broken things can be remade." Summoning all his strength, he grabbed the bars of his cell door and pulled himself up, bringing his face level with hers. "Help me restore my body, and I will help you destroy the Republic," he offered. She looked at him with uncertainty. "You do want to destroy the Republic, don't you?"

"More than anything," she said, and the group behind her made sounds of agreement. "But what chance is there of that now?" she asked. One corner of Maul's mouth turned upward in the smallest of smiles.

"Chance? The end of the Republic is not a matter of chance," he told her. "It is a matter of destiny."

 

*******

 

From his bed on the medical frigate, Anakin had an excellent view of the Republic's navy as it orbited Ryloth. Not far from their position he could see the  _Resolute_ , Admiral Yularen's attack cruiser, as it loomed over the tiny remnant of the Separatist fleet, but the guns of the ships on both sides were silent now. As Anakin watched, a single shuttle left the largest of the Separatist ships and began to make its way towards the  _Resolute_.

"That must be Trench arriving to formally surrender," a voice next to him said. He turned to see Commander Lyosar standing beside his bed. She'd been making the rounds of the medical bay, checking on on the many wounded members of her Striker unit.

"Do you really think this is the end of it?" he asked her, turning back to the viewport. "The end of the war?"

"That's what they're saying," she said with a shrug. "Admiral Trench was supposedly the last holdout." The watched in silence as the Separatist shuttle docked. Anakin felt anxious as he looked on, wondering what the end of the war would mean for his future. He felt as though he was standing on the edge of a precipice.

"Your mind is in turmoil," KeAnn said, still staring out the window. "You must learn to quiet it."

"You sound like Obi-Wan," Anakin said sullenly. Of course his mind was in turmoil. The war was over, but that was the least of his worries. In the cave, he'd realized he couldn't give Padme up, but being with her would mean leaving the Jedi Order. Just the thought of Obi-Wan's disappointment crushed his spirit. But even more than that, he remembered his mother's words.  _Learn the ways of the Force. That is your only hope._  Turning from the path she'd set him on seemed impossible.

"It sounds as though your master has taught you well. Or at least tried to," she said.

"I didn't think you held with Jedi teachings anymore?"

"Some of their teachings are more useful than others," she said. Anakin looked at her curiously. For the first time it occurred to him that KeAnn might be someone sympathetic to his difficulties. After all, she had been expelled from the Jedi Order. He knew she had a family now, a husband, a son. The man she'd married was an Alderaanian, someone connected with the Royal family, though he couldn't quite remember how. Was that relationship the reason for her rift with the Order? Suddenly he very much wanted to know.

"Commander," he began cautiously. "May I ask you a personal question?" She turned to look at him, her dark eyes intent.

"You may," she said slowly, her eyes boring into his. He took a breath, afraid to ask but more afraid not to know. He knew he was likely on a collision course with the Jedi Council. He needed to know what it was like from someone who truly knew.

"Why were you expelled from the Jedi Order?" he asked. She looked at him carefully for a moment, but then a small smile appeared on her lips and Anakin felt himself relax slightly. It was, after all, a very personal question.

"I'm surprised Kenobi didn't tell you as some great cautionary parable," she said with a small laugh. "I was held up as the bad example for many years by many masters, but I suppose it's been too long ago now." "When it happened, the war hadn't even officially started yet. Not that it mattered on Rudask."

"Rudask," Anakin repeated the name of the planet. "I know that name. Wasn't the rebellion there part of what started the war?"

"Indeed, more than a dozen years ago," KeAnn said. "But when I arrived on Rudask the peace was still holding, though just barely. I'd just passed the trials when I was sent there. By the time things boiled over, I'd seen enough to know the Rudask government was vicious and corrupt, but the Republic continued to back them. When the fighting broke out the Council attempted to recall me, but I refused to leave." Anakin was surprised. This story wasn't at all what he had expected.

"You joined the rebels?" he asked. KeAnn nodded.

"The Senate was furious. There was a good deal of pressure from the politicians to make an example out of me. The fools still thought they could avoid a full-blown war in those days." Anakin caught just a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"So the Council expelled you?"

"That's right," she said quickly.

"They left you with an impossible choice," he said sympathetically, thinking it was not unlike the dilemma he now faced.

"There is no such thing as an impossible choice," she said sharply. "I made my decision, and so did the Council. We must all live with our choices, and with their consequences." Anakin was surprised by her response. She was starting to sound like Obi-Wan again. But there was one more thing he wanted to know.

"Was it worth it?" he asked. She shifted her gaze back to the viewport, her eyes downcast.

"I did what I thought was right," she said finally. "I wouldn't change that, but I paid a high price for it." She looked back at Anakin. "I could never have imagined how hard it would be lose my place among the Jedi." Before Anakin could say anything else, one of the Strikers appeared from around the corner, saluting KeAnn.

"Commander Lyosar, you're needed on the bridge," he said, standing at attention.

"I'll be right there," she said. "Get some rest, Skywalker," she said as she turned to go. "And try to heed your master's teachings."

 

*******

 

The medical frigate exited hyperspace above Coruscant with the rest of the Republic fleet, hailed by thousands of civilian ships in orbit setting off fireworks to celebrate their triumphant return. Obi-Wan watched for a moment from the bridge's viewport, but soon turned away. He had participated in his share of violence through the years, but the devastation the Republic had rained on Ryloth was beyond anything he'd seen before. He did not have the stomach to rejoice in such destruction.

He left the bridge and wandered the corridors, killing time until the ship landed. He considered seeking out Anakin, who had been discharged from the medical bay the day before, but the truth was that their relationship was more strained than ever after the battle on Ryloth. He ruminated sadly on that fact as he walked, lost in thought, until he bumped straight into Bail Organa.

"General Kenobi, just who I was looking for," Bail said, looking around to make sure the corridor was empty. "I need you in the morgue." Obi-Wan was taken aback.

"What the devil for?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"You'll see," Bail answered cryptically, steering Obi-Wan down the corridor by his elbow. They took a lift down a few decks. As they rode down, Obi-Wan started to ask Bail what was going on, but the intelligence director put a finger to his lips and shook his head. They exited the lift and Obi-Wan followed Bail into the frigate's morgue.

"We can talk here, I've rerouted the surveillance from this room," Bail said as cut on the lights and the door shut behind them. The room was lined with caskets, the bodies of those who had lost their lives on or above Ryloth. Several bore the mark of the Jedi Order.

"What are we doing?" Obi-Wan asked nervously as Bail walked into the maze of dead bodies. Obi-Wan followed.

"Making sure Rex doesn't fall into the wrong hands," Bail said over his shoulder.

"Rex isn't down here, he's in the medical bay," Obi-Wan said, confused.

"Try again," Bail said, stopping at one of the Jedi coffins. He flipped the latches on the side and the lid rose, revealing the body of Captain Rex. Obi-Wan looked at Bail, horrified. "He isn't dead," Bail said quickly, "only heavily sedated. The sedative I gave him will mask his life signs, that should allow you to smuggle him into the med facility at the Temple in a Jedi casket."

"Director, with all due respect, what the blazes is going on?" Obi-Wan asked, still feeling bewildered.

"You can't turn Rex over to Republic Intelligence," Bail insisted.

"Why not?" Obi-Wan asked. When Bail responded, he lowered his voice to just above a whisper. Obi-Wan could sense his fear.

"How do you think our informant in the cloning facility was discovered?" Bail asked. Obi-Wan shrugged. "There were no signs they were onto her before she disappeared," Bail explained. "A bomber attack of that size wasn't coordinated on the fly. Palpatine planned it."

"What's the connection?" Obi-Wan asked, trying to follow.

"I warned him that the Separatists almost certainly knew about our attack, but he ordered us in anyway. He was betting that Grievous would concentrate his forces to protect that cloning facility and give Palpatine an opportunity to wipe their forces out."

"And you think he gave up the informant to set us up as bait for Grievous?" Obi-Wan was beginning to see at least part of what Bail was getting at. "A trap within a trap?"

"I think it's a distinct possibility."

"But what does this have to do with Rex?"

"The point is that Palpatine can't be trusted," Bail said. "I know, I'm Alderaanian and none of us trust Palpatine, but this goes beyond his betrayal of Alderaan, and it's not just Ryloth." Bail dropped his voice still lower. "I knew people who worked on the investigation into the events at Geonosis," he said, referencing the battle where the Republic clones, including Rex, had turned on the Jedi. "Two analysts disappeared before the results were released, and another ended up in a psychiatric facility. The word around Republic Intelligence was that it was a cursed assignment, but I think those people were potential whistleblowers"

"You think the Republic is hiding something?" Obi-Wan asked urgently. He had fought at Geonosis, he was the only Jedi who had survived. "Something to do with the clones?"

"I can't be certain, but it's a question worth asking," Bail said. "And if I were you, I wouldn't leave it to the Republic to find the answer."


	5. Return to Coruscant

**Return to Coruscant**

Padme stood next to Breha on the dock where the Republic’s victorious fleet was due to arrive any moment. Queen Salma and a small group of Alderaanians were there too, in a well-positioned spot near the front of the gathered crowd, not far from Chancellor Valorum’s repulsorpod.

“How much longer?” A small voice behind her asked. She looked over at the young son of her friend KeAnn, standing in front of his father, looking up hopefully at the sky.

“Not long,” his father answered, “look.” As he pointed, Padme turned back around and saw the horizon now filled with Republic ships beginning their descent toward the docks. The crowd around her began to cheer in anticipation as the ships approached. Padme was glad too, glad to see the Republic’s soldiers returning home, but there was also a nervous knot forming in her stomach.

The ships docked and the gangways were lowered. The roar of the crowd grew louder as row after row of Republic troops marched out of the ships. Jedi, naval officers, and clones lined up in formation, standing at attention in front of Chancellor Valorum.

There was a loud cheer as General Palpatine, leader of the Grand Army of the Republic, took his place at the head of the column, but Padme withheld her applause, as did the other Alderaanians around her. None of them had forgotten that it was Palpatine who had persuaded the government into abandoning Alderaan to the Separatists some seven years earlier.

“Senators, Jedi, rulers and leaders from near and far, and to all my fellow citizens, the war is over!” Chancellor Valorum announced to the crowd, his voice electronically amplified over the din, “tomorrow evening, I invite the victors of the battlefield and the representatives of our homeworlds to gather in the Senate Building, at the very heart of our democracy, to celebrate the triumph of the Republic!”

The crowd cheered and clapped in approval at Valorum’s words, and Padme joined in absentmindedly. Her focus was elsewhere, as she tried to find Anakin among the Republic troops. Her eyes anxiously scanned each row of soldiers, looking for a familiar face among the brown-robed Jedi Knights. Finally, she saw him, standing near the end of one of the rows, next to Obi-Wan. Relief washed over her, and she let go of the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as her fears dissipated. He was alive.

As if he sensed her gaze, Anakin’s head turned away from Valorum and toward where she was standing. Their eyes met. The corners of his mouth upturned ever so slightly in a barely perceptible smile. She smiled back. For the briefest of moments, her many worries about their future melted away. Then she saw Obi-Wan turn to see who Anakin was looking at and she quickly dropped her head as all her fears came rushing back.

Padme looked back up at the Chancellor in his elevated repulsorpod. It felt like the only safe place to let her eyes linger, though she barely registered a word of his speech. “Victory is ours,” Valorum said as he concluded his remarks, holding his arms wide. “Long live the Republic!”

The crowd gave a final cheer, echoing Valorum’s words. Heeding his cue, General Palpatine turned around and dismissed the troops. As the soldiers began to move away, KeAnn’s son broke away from his father and sprinted toward the disbanding troops. Padme watched as KeAnn scooped the boy up in her arms, and felt an unexpected pang of sadness. As the family was reunited, she couldn’t help but feel as though she was watching a future that would never exist for her.

She realized Anakin, who was standing not far off from the happy reunion, was watching too. He turned his eyes toward her. She imagined him walking toward her and sweeping her up in his arms, but then she heard Obi-Wan call his name and her fantasy evaporated. Anakin turned away, following his master.

 

*******

 

“Anakin.” He heard Obi-Wan’s voice, but it sounded muffled and far away. The only thing that was clear to him was Padme. It was such a relief to see her safe after his disturbing visions on Ryloth, but he could still sense that she was troubled. He saw a sadness in her eyes that he had never seen there before.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan said again, more insistently this time. With considerable effort, Anakin tore his eyes away from Padme and turned to follow Obi-Wan into the transport that would take them back the Jedi Temple. He tried to bury his feelings and focus his mind elsewhere.

He took his seat next to his master, who gave him a worried look but said nothing. They had barely spoken since the battle on Ryloth. Anakin knew Obi-Wan was not pleased with his actions on the battlefield. He had acted recklessly, questioned orders, and displayed a level of aggression unbefitting of a Jedi Knight, but he knew that none of that was the reason for Obi-Wan’s stony silence.

He glanced sideways to Obi-Wan. He wanted to say something, to explain himself, but he was afraid nothing he could say would appease his master. Obi-Wan wouldn’t find it compelling that Anakin had first tried to free himself from the collapsed cavern using only his Jedi training. He would see it only as a double failure, that Anakin had failed to harness the power of the light, and also failed to resist the temptation of the darkness.

So instead Anakin said nothing and turned his focus to a scuff mark on the floor as the transport sped through the Coruscant sky toward the Jedi Temple. When the transport landed, Anakin disembarked first, followed by Obi-Wan, but while Anakin continued toward the temple, Obi-Wan lingered on the docks.

 “Are you coming?” Anakin asked, turning back as he realized his master was falling behind.

“I need to take care of something,” Obi-Wan answered vaguely. Anakin saw that he was watching the unloading of the caskets holding the Jedi dead from the hold of another transport. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Will we be debriefing the Council tomorrow?” Anakin asked as Obi-Wan started toward the other transport.

“I’ll handle that,” Obi-Wan said dismissively. “Take the chance to get some rest. You’re still recovering.”

“I’m fine,” Anakin said. “I should be there.”

“It will be better if I address them alone,” Obi-Wan insisted, and his tone told Anakin that there would be no further discussion of the matter. Biting back a retort, Anakin nodded glumly and turned to go into the temple alone.

Anakin made his way through the temple toward his room, his frustration with Obi-Wan building at every step. The only reason he could think of for Obi-Wan to ask him not to attend the debriefing was if Obi-Wan wanted to discuss him with the Council. And if that was true, it meant Anakin was indeed in trouble. Serious trouble. 

He arrived at the door to his room and hit the controls to open it. It was very small and modestly adorned, just like every other room in the temple. He slumped down on the bed still fully dressed and covered his face with his hands. Dread filled him as he thought of Obi-Wan telling the Council what had happened on Ryloth.  And then there was Padme. Trapped in the cavern, faced with death, he’d felt so certain that she was his future, but in the clear light of day, his certainty evaporated. If he could only talk to her, maybe she could help him make sense of it all. 

He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, grimacing slightly as his left foot hit the ground. He reached down and rubbed at his calf where the muscles were still sore from the surgery that had fused the bones of his shattered left leg with titanium rods. Yet another reminder of everything that had gone wrong on Ryloth.

It was a risk to try and see Padme tonight, but he decided it was a worthwhile one. He opened the trunk at the end of his bed and pulled out his rain poncho and a brimmed cap. Stuffing both into his satchel, he opened his door and headed out into the hall. Walking quickly and keeping his head down, he made his way to the temple stairs, taking them two at a time until he was out on the streets of Coruscant.

He walked several blocks from the temple before he removed his cloak and shoved it into the satchel, swapping it for the rain poncho and his hat. He pulled the brim low over his eyes to help keep his face hidden. It was a far from perfect disguise, but it certainly made it harder for him to be recognized as a Jedi. His wardrobe change complete, he hailed a hover taxi.

“Where to?” the Abednedo driver asked gruffly.

“The Senate Building,” Anakin answered, pulling a handful of credits from his satchel. “And make it quick.” The driver saw the credits and gave him a nod. The hover taxi took off, zipping through the heavy traffic of the Senate District. Anakin peered out the window, watching the speeders and buildings fly by. The hover taxi screeched to a halt in front of the Senate Building and Anakin paid the driver handsomely and hopped out.

Doing his best to remain incognito, he passed through the security checkpoints at the building’s entrance and inquired as to the location of Padme’s office with the droid manning the information center in the lobby. He meandered through the corridors and took a series of lifts, until he finally found himself in the right place.

He felt a jolt of nerves as he reached out to the call button on the door to her office, suddenly anxious at the thought of seeing her again. For the first time it occurred to him that she might send him straight home and tell him what had happened on Scipio was a mistake and nothing more. His fingers hovered over the call button for a moment as the cloud of doubt entered his mind, but he brushed it aside and pressed the button.

The door opened and Anakin strode inside, but he didn’t find Padme there. There was only a man at a desk, looking up at Anakin with a look of vague annoyance. Of course, Anakin realized, Padme was unlikely to be alone in her office, even at this late hour. His eyes flickered to another door to his right, behind which he could sense her presence.

“May I help you?” the man behind the desk asked, blinking up at Anakin.

“I’m here to see Senator Naberrie,” Anakin said, stepping forward.

“I’m sorry sir, the senator’s public office hours are over and she has no appointments scheduled for this evening,” the man said, his eyes returning to the datascreen in front of him in a clear dismissal of Anakin. But Anakin wasn’t going to give up so easily.

“I do not require an appointment,” Anakin said, passing his hand in front of the man’s face. The man looked up at him again, and blinked several times. For a moment, Anakin was afraid the mind trick hadn’t worked, but then the man spoke.

“You do not require an appointment,” he told Anakin. Anakin smiled.

“It’s time for you to head home,” he instructed the man.

“It’s time for me to head home,” the man repeated back to him, getting up from his chair and pulling on his cloak. Anakin watched with satisfaction as the man walked out the door and into the hall. Anakin closed the door behind him and pulled off his hat and poncho. Then he walked around to the other side of the desk and found the controls to the intercom.

 

*******

 

Padme sat at her desk, her eyes bleary as she read through yet another report in preparation for the various meetings that awaited her tomorrow before the chancellor’s celebration. The thought of being forced to socialize with the galaxy’s elite for an entire evening made her feel unwell, and we quickly popped one of the anti-nausea pills Breha had picked up for her. She could ill afford another episode like the one that had transpired at Ta’a Chume’s dinner party.

It was late and she was tired, but she was determined to get through the last few reports on her list. She  liked to be well-versed on each of the issues before stepping into the Nexu-pit that was the Senate Chamber. She had specifically instructed her secretary not to disturb her, so she was surprised and mildly annoyed to see the indicator light on her comm light up, but she decided to let the call come through.

“Neerin, whatever it is, can it wait until morning?” she said into the comm, but there was only silence on the other side. “Neerin?” she called, but again, there was nothing. With a sigh, she popped another of the anti-nausea pills she’d had Breha pick up for her and then went to the door that separated her private office from the antechamber outside.

“Neerin, what-” she began as the door opened, but she immediately cut herself off. Neerin was not at his desk. Instead, she saw Anakin Skywalker, leaning on the edge of the desk and looking quite pleased with himself.

Padme stared for a moment, shocked to see him. The gangly teenager she’d first met five years before was gone, transformed into something new. His fair hair, once wild and windswept, was now cropped short. His shoulders were broader and his limbs thicker, built up by four years of training. He looked every inch the Jedi Knight.

“Where’s Neerin?” she asked, as her surprise began to abate.  

“I sent Neerin home for the night,” he said with a smile, starting to slowly walk toward her.

“How did you manage that?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Just a bit of Jedi persuasion,” he said, taking another step forward. She narrowed her eyes and he held up as hands defensively. “It was harmless, I promise.”

“You really shouldn’t be here,” she said. She felt her heart began to beat faster. He stopped moving toward her, looking at her intently.

“Do you want me to go?” he asked quietly. She looked at him, her mind whirring. It would be better if she sent him away, if she waited to gather her thoughts, to decide exactly how she was going to tell him everything she needed to tell him. But it wasn’t what she wanted.

“No,” she whispered. He looked at her a moment, then strode forward, closing the space between them. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he bent to kiss her and her feet left the floor as he swept her up in his arms.

When her feet touched the ground again, she grabbed the front of his Jedi robes, pulling him with her back into the seclusion of her office. The rest of the world seemed to fade away as she gave into the heady intoxication she always felt when she was with Anakin.

She wasn’t even sure how they made it to the sofa, but she found herself there, laying across Anakin’s chest, her lips pressed against his. It was only when she felt his fingers release the clasp on the back her dress that she suddenly snapped back to the real world.

“We can’t,” she said, pushing herself up, “not here.”

“There’s no one around,” Anakin said, sitting up as she stood and walked back toward her desk, reaching behind her to fasten the clasp on her dress.

“I’m not the only senator who works long hours,” she said. Her mind suddenly buzzed with what her colleagues would say if they discovered her in a compromising position in her office, nevermind with a Jedi. If they were going to get caught, she didn’t want it to be here. “Take this,” she said, grabbing her spare code cylinder from a desk drawer. “Do you know 500 Republica?“

“Who doesn’t?” Anakin said with a sigh, taking the cylinder from her.

“Use the third lift on the left, go up to floor six-eighty-six. It’s apartment three,” she said. He stood up, but was clearly reluctant to go. She slipped her arms around his waist and rose on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. “I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.”

“What if someone sees me going into your apartment?” he asked as he walked back out to the other room.

“You’ll just have to use some more of that Jedi persuasion,” she said, leaning in the doorway and watching as he pulled on his rain poncho and removed his hat from the satchel.

“It doesn’t work on everyone,” he said, turning back to her.

“Well then,” she said with a smile, taking the hat from his hand and fitting it on his head, pulling the brim low, “don’t let anyone see you.”

 

*******

 

Maul hovered above the shoulders of the pilot of the heavily-armed freighter as the ship exited lightspeed just out of range of Coruscant’s sensors. He flexed the claw-like toes of his newly installed legs, bestowed upon him by the medical droids of the late General Grievous.

“Is the cloaking device operational?” he asked the pilot as the ship maneuvered closer to the planet.

“It is, sir.”

“Then bring her in,” Maul said, stalking off to the other side of the bridge where Vigdis stood, looking out at the ships surrounding the city-planet.

“There are the prison ships,” she said as they passed into the planet’s orbit. She pointed to a series of old capital ships, once large war machines but now stripped of their weaponry and used as holding cells for the thousands of Separatists captured on Ryloth.

“They’re well guarded,” Vigdis noted as they passed by the prison ships. Maul only smiled.

“That won’t matter for long,” he assured her.

“Preparing for landing,” the pilot called from his seat. Maul took his seat as the freighter began its descent. He took a datacard from the pocket of his tunic and admired it’s metallic gleam. The datacard was the key to everything, if he could only get to the Chancellor’s office. He would have to rely on the knowledge of Vigdis and her crew to bring him to the Senate, but once there he would finally see the payoff of his long years of waiting.

The ship cleared the atmosphere and headed away from the wealthiest part of the planet, toward a less populated section of Coruscant where they could descend undetected into one of the portals leading into the city’s underbelly. The ship skimmed over the skyline, then hovered for a moment above one of the portals before the pilot took it straight down, into the underworld.

They descended several hundred levels, into the worst parts of the city that were still habitable. Maul watched through the viewport as the scene outside became grimmer with each level they passed. He could feel the increasing sense of hopelessness and despair of the inhabitants of the dark, forgotten corners of the bright center of the universe.

At last, the pilot peeled off and docked the ship under directions from Vigdis. She ordered a small number of her crew to stay behind, while the rest descended the gangway with her and Maul, into the foul air of the lowest levels of Coruscant.

“You’re certain of the location of the tunnel entrance?” Maul asked her as they exited the ship.

“I grew up in these gutters,” she answered. “I know it well enough.”

“Lead on, then,” he said. She moved out to the front of the group, keeping one hand on her holstered blaster, and Maul followed with the others in tow. He had been afraid they would stick out, but he needn’t have worried. The citizens of this section of the underworld appeared to hail from every corner of the galaxy, and none of them were concerned about a gaggle of strangers except as the potential mark for a mugging.

Vigdis led them through the maze of streets and alleyways, at one point forcing them to traipse through a rotting garbage heap. They continued on for what seemed like hours until at last they came to a rickety metal stair. At the bottom, concealed behind a half-shredded tarpaulin, was an entrance to the old tunnels that ran beneath the city. As Vigdis pulled back the tarp to let them pass through, Maul recoiled at the stench.

“This was part of the sewer system once,” she said, smirking. “It isn’t pleasant, but it will get us where we need to go.” Maul ripped off a piece of the bottom edge of his cloak and wrapped it around his nose and mouth to ward off some of the smell, and many of his compatriots did the same.

The tunnels were, for the most part, abandoned, but now and then they passed some unfortunate soul who made their home in the sewers. Most paid them no attention, but a few held out their hands, hopeful for a small mercy. When Maul passed, however, the hands typically withdrew, as though they could sense that to request anything of him would only led to further suffering. As they crossed through the intersection of two tunnels, however, one desperate looking Rodian pressed in on Maul.

“Spare a credit, sir? Perhaps a few wupiupi?” the Rodian begged, clinging to the edge of Maul’s cloak. Maul tried to pull his cloak away, but the Rodian refused to let go.

“Out of my way!” Maul snarled, kicking at the Rodian, who flew back against the tunnel wall with a thud. In the scuffle, the piece of cloth covering his face was dislodged. Instinctively, Maul pulled his lightsaber from his belt and ignited one of the blades, illuminating the sewers in a scarlet glow.

Maul rounded on the Rodian, whose large, starry eyes were wide with fear. Maul lunged but he was still growing accustomed to his new limbs, and his would-be victim managed to dodge out of the way as the red blade sliced through the sewer wall with a fierce hiss. The Rodian quickly disappeared down another tunnel.

“Put that thing away!” Vigdis whispered urgently, grabbing Maul’s arm as he started after the Rodian. “He’s only a spice junkie, it’s not worth the trouble. We should keep moving.” Maul’s temper flared for a moment at the impropriety of being ordered around by an inferior, but he disengaged the lightsaber. She was right. He returned the weapon to his belt and pulled the covering back over his face.

“Let’s go,” he ordered. Vigdis gave him a nod and started forward again, and he followed, with her crew behind them. Every step brought them closer to the Senate Building, and to the fulfillment of Darth Maul’s long-awaited revenge.

 

*******

 

Anakin awoke to the Coruscant sunrise streaming into Padme’s bedroom. He squinted against the bright light and rolled away from the window. Padme lay next to him, also awake, but she was staring at the ceiling, pulling at the tufts at the edge of the coverlet, looking worried. Anakin propped himself up on his elbow so he could see her face. She looked over at him and he smiled.

“I was afraid I would wake up and find it was all just a dream,” he said as he took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, gently kissing her fingers.

“Maybe it was,” she said softly. She seemed distracted, and her worried look persisted.

“It seems real enough to me,” he said, letting go of her hand and reaching his arms out to wrap them around her, but she pulled away.

“Not to me,“ she said icily as she got up out of the bed, pulled on her robe, and left the room. Anakin frowned as he watched her go, feeling as though the woman he’d woken up next to was a different person than the one he’d spent the night with.

Sighing, he dragged himself from the luxurious sheet’s of Padme’s bed and found his trousers and the bottom layer of his tunic. Putting both on he followed Padme into the main living space of the apartment.

“What’s wrong?” he asked her as she busied herself making a cup of tea. Her service droid remained deactivated in the corner, a precaution she had insisted upon. She looked up at him, and he could see that she was already frustrated.

“You realize we’re living in a temporary fantasy, don’t you?” she said as she stirred the cup of tea in front of her. “Whatever we’re doing, whatever this is,” she said, gesturing to the two of them, “it can’t go on like this.”

“Can’t it?” Anakin said, drawing closer, trying to change to mood, but she moved away, taking a seat in an armchair.

“I’m not going to spend the rest of my days slinking off to secret trysts and lying to everyone I know,” she said. Anakin, feeling a bit defeated, slumped down on the sofa across from her.

“You didn’t seem to have any of these misgivings last night,” he said pointedly. Her face flushed.

“I…” she began, but then trailed off, flustered. However, she quickly composed herself. “You surprised me,” she said defensively. “I was caught up in the moment.” Anakin could see she was upset with herself for her lack of willpower the previous evening, but she seemed very determined now.

“We have to be realistic about about our future, Anakin,” she said her tone stern. She paused for a moment, as though fortifying herself for what she was about to say. He saw her take a deep breath. “If you aren’t going to leave the Jedi,” she said, her voice somewhat shaky, but resolute, “then we have to end this. For both our sakes.”

Anakin stared at her, his heart pounding. Deep down, he knew she was right, but in the moment, her suggestion filled him with dread. He felt the same sting of betrayal he had felt years ago, when she had first put a stop to their young romance. _We have to end this._ The words echoed frightfully in his mind, and he felt his face go hot with anger.

“Is that what you want?” he asked, not bothering to keep the edge out of his voice. “To end it?”

“I didn’t say that,” she pointed out, sidestepping the question. “All I’m saying is that a choice will have to be made.” Anakin looked at her for a moment, then stood suddenly, walking across the room. His head was spinning.

“I don’t want to discuss this now,” he said, running his hands through his hair and then resting them on his hips as he stared out the window at the Coruscant skyline. He wasn’t prepared to decide his future here and now.

“If not now, when?” Padme asked, insistent. “It’s only a matter of time before we’re found out, and if that happens, the Jedi Council won’t give you a choice.” The truth of her words felt like a gut punch. He thought of what it would mean to be expelled, to be hauled before the Council and have his failings put on full display, to be stripped of his lightsaber. He remembered what KeAnn had said after the battle on Ryloth: _I could never have imagined how hard it would be lose my place among the Jedi._

“What do you want me to do?” he asked quietly, looking at her over his shoulder. She seemed taken aback by the question.

“I can’t make this decision for you,” she said, shaking her head, but that Anakin wasn’t acceptable to Anakin. He needed, desperately wanted, someone to tell him what the right choice was. He turned around to fully face her.

“Do you want me to leave the Order?” he asked forcefully.

“I would never ask that of you,” she said, as though repulsed by the suggestion. Anakin’s frustration boiled over.

“And why is that?” he demanded to know, the volume of his voice raising with his temper. “Because you doubt me? You doubt us?” he asked, pacing across the room. He pointed an accusatory finger at her as the answer dawned on him. “You think our relationship will fall apart, and it would all have been for nothing.”

“I never said that!” she shouted back at him with frustration, sitting up on the edge of her chair. He could sense he’d hit upon something though, a real fear. The fear was real for him too, but he wasn’t about to admit that.

“You don’t have to,” he said, watching her eyes, “I can see it in your mind.” He saw her jaw set with anger, but he didn’t care. He turned away and began to gather his things.

“Don’t do that,” she said as he pulled on his boots. Her expression was livid. “Don’t bring your Jedi tricks into this.”

“If you were honest with me,” he retorted, “I wouldn’t have to.” He threw his satchel over his shoulder and started for the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked as he stalked off. “This conversation isn’t over.” He stopped at the door and turned back.

“I’m going back to the Temple,” he said as he punched the door controls. “I just got back from fighting one war, I’d rather not start another one with you.”

 

*******

 

Obi-Wan rose early after a night of fitful sleep. He’d managed to get Rex safely delivered to the Jedi Temple’s medical bay, but he could still not rest easy. His worries, about Anakin primarily, permeated his mind. He was filled with uncertainty about how to handle his young apprentice.

The night before, he’d decided he would have to give the Council a full and unaltered account of what occured on Ryloth. But now that it was morning, Obi-Wan doubted his choice, or at least part of it. He’d believed it would be better if Anakin was not present, but upon reflection he realized the young man deserved a chance to explain himself. With that in mind, he headed to Anakin’s chambers before his audience with the Council.

Obi-Wan arrived at Anakin’s door and pressed the controls to indicate a visitor had arrived, but there was no answer. He pressed the controls again, and again, and again. Nothing. Taking a more analog approach, he rapped on the door with his knuckles, just in case something was wrong with the door’s notification system, but the door remained firmly closed.

Reaching out with the Force, Obi-Wan could not sense Anakin’s presence inside the room, but he knew the swirl of emotion he now felt could be clouding his perceptions. Determined to know for certain, Obi-Wan pressed the controls to open the door, knowing that Anakin’s room, like all rooms in the temple, lacked a lock. Jedi were not afforded that level of privacy.

The room was empty, as Obi-Wan had known it would be, but it was still difficult to shake his disappointment, and his frustration. _Where the blazes is that boy?_ he asked himself. Answers popped into his mind, but none of them brought him any comfort. His thoughts rushed to a certain senator from Alderaan, but he told himself Anakin would not be so foolhardy.

Obi-Wan shut Anakin’s door and made his way to the chambers of the Jedi Council, trying to bury his concerns, but they continued to rise to the surface against his will. As he waited for the lift that would take him up the High Council Spire, he heard the unmistakable sound of his old master’s walking stick. He turned and bowed, offering his morning greeting to the tiny green alien who had completed his training and was the long-serving head of their order.

“Master Yoda,” he said as he bowed. Master Yoda inclined his wizened head.

“Obi-Wan,” Yoda said as the lift arrived. Obi-Wan gestured for Yoda to enter the lift first, then followed behind. As the doors closed, Yoda looked up at Obi-Wan.

“Worried about your apprentice, you are?” the ancient Jedi Master asked. Obi-Wan sighed. He should have known that Master Yoda would immediately be able to read his feelings. There was no use hiding anything from him.

“He has been distracted of late,” Obi-Wan said, shaking his head. “There is great conflict in him. He is ruled by his emotions, quick to draw power from his fear or his anger.”

“All students stumble from the path of the light,” Yoda said as the lift continued to rise. “Help him find his way back, you must, before he wanders too far.” The lift came to a stop at the top of the spire, and the two Jedi exited into the hall outside the Council chambers.

“I’m not sure I know how,” Obi-Wan admitted as he walked with Yoda toward the window, taking in the view of Coruscant below.

“But you do know,” Yoda insisted, jabbing his walking stick at Obi-Wan. “The young apprentice who came to me after his master was killed, filled with turmoil, he was,” Yoda reminded him. Obi-Wan remembered only too well the young man Yoda referred to. “See yourself in him, you do,” Yoda observed sagely.

“I thought I could help Anakin, as you helped me,” Obi-Wan explained. “Now I am not so sure.”

“Hmm, much distrust of him I sense in you. Much doubt,” Yoda said. Obi-Wan sighed.

“I do trust him,” he insisted, but the words didn’t ring entirely true. “Most of the time,” he qualified. Behind them, the lift opened again and a few other members of the Council came out. Their session would start soon.

“Faith in your apprentice, you must have,” Yoda told him, his voice low and serious. “Or fail him, you will.” Yoda fixed him with a meaningful stare, then turned to go into the Council chambers with the other masters. Obi-Wan lingered a moment, considering Yoda’s words. His old master was right. He was not going to make Anakin the Council’s problem. They didn’t need to know everything that had occurred on Ryloth, at least not yet. There was still time to set things right.


	6. Triumph of the Republic

**Triumph of the Republic**

Still fuming after his argument with Padme, Anakin wandered the elevated walkways around 500 Republica in the morning sun and tried to clear his head. As he walked, dodging through the crowds with his hat pulled low, his anger with Padme began to fade. He began to regret storming out on her. He was already on shifting sands with Obi-Wan, and now he’d alienated Padme too. 

With a sigh, he turned back toward 500 Republica. He’d acted foolishly, but it wasn’t too late. If he hurried, he knew he could catch Padme before she left for the Senate and try to undo some of the damage. He hurried through the throngs of people along the walkway and started up the steps at the apartment building’s entrance, taking them two at a time. He was nearly at the front doors when he ran into a white-haired man coming the opposite way.

“Watch it!” Anakin shouted, rounding on the old man with a snarl, but his anger quickly turned to mortification when he saw the man’s face. “General Palpatine,” he said, his face burning red from embarrassment. He snapped to attention before the leader of the Grand Army of the Republic.

“Commander Skywalker?” Palpatine asked, peering under the brim of Anakin’s hat. The general was several inches shorter than Anakin, and there was little in his receding hairline or weak chin to suggest a great military man, yet his reputation as a ruthless strategist was unmatched in the galaxy.

“Yes, sir,” Anakin said, hastily snatching his hat off his head. He was surprised Palpatine remembered him, as he had only met the general once before. “I’m so sorry, sir, I should have been paying better attention.” He wrung the hat nervously in his hands behind his back, keeping his eyes down.

“What are you doing here?” Palpatine asked pointedly, ignoring Anakin’s apology.

“I was...I was just…” Anakin stammered, casting about for some reasonable excuse. After a few difficult seconds, Palpatine took pity on him.

“Are you heading to the Jedi Temple?” Palpatine asked, offering Anakin an escape route.

“Yes, of course,” Anakin said, relieved, though the general’s expression suggested he knew very well Anakin was somewhere he ought not to be.

“Then you will ride with me,” Palpatine said, gesturing to the well-appointed speeder that awaited him, “I am already headed that way myself.” Anakin started to protest but Palpatine stopped him short. “I insist,” Palpatine said, putting a hand on Anakin’s shoulder and guiding him toward the speeder. Anakin decided it was best not to resist. His reconciliation with Padme would have to wait.

Anakin boarded the speeder and took his seat, marveling at the plush fabric of the vehicle’s interior and the expensive bottles of alcohol arrayed in a miniature bar. Palpatine joined him, looking perfectly at ease in their luxurious surroundings. “Go,” Palpatine ordered the driver, and the speeder took off.

Anakin fidgeted in his seat, nervous to be in such close proximity to a military leader he so admired. He wondered if he should say something, but Palpatine spoke first. “You’ll be attending the Chancellor’s celebration this evening?” Anakin nodded. Palpatine smiled, nodding. “You are to be commended for the bravery of your actions on Ryloth. Our triumph there is owed in no small part to you.”

“Thank you, sir,” Anakin said, bowing his head. He was pleased that Palpatine knew about his role in the battle. He felt his apprehension begin to melt away. Here at last was someone who appreciated his efforts, rather than scolding him for his failures. “I am not sure the Jedi Council will share your view of the situation,” he added, ruefully anticipating the dressing-down he was sure awaited him at the temple.

“War is not normally the purview of the Jedi,” Palpatine said. “They don’t always understand what is necessary to succeed in battle.” He paused, looking at Anakin closely. “But you already know that, don’t you?” Anakin didn’t reply, but he cast his eyes down, afraid they would betray his answer. “What a waste of talent, for the Jedi to hold themselves back,” Palpatine went on. “Imagine what they could achieve if they allowed their power to be fully unleashed.”

“The Jedi are guardians, not rulers,” Anakin said, repeating the lessons he had learned in his Jedi training. He pushed aside the small voice whispering to him that Palpatine was right. “We must leave governing to the politicians,” he said, hearing Obi-Wan’s voice in his head. Palpatine was unmoved.

“The Jedi fear their own power and the galaxy has suffered for it,” the general said brusquely. Anakin could hear the disdain in his voice. “Those with the ability to wield the Force were not always so timid.”

“You mean the Sith?” Anakin asked, taken aback. He knew General Palpatine was an unorthodox military strategist, but he would never have believed him capable of admiring the Dark Lords of the Sith. “They were monsters.”

“Your Order has demonized them, but if you’ve studied their history you know that many followers of that ancient order only sought to bring order to the galaxy,” Palpatine said, his voice calm once again. “Is that so wrong?” he asked.

“No,” Anakin said after a moment of quiet consideration, “but in the case of the Sith the end did not justify the means.”

“Spoken like a true Jedi,” Palpatine said with a half-smile as the speeder came to a stop in front of the Jedi Temple. “But I wonder,” he added, looking straight into Anakin’s eyes, “do you really believe that?” Before Anakin could answer, the driver came around and opened his door. Taking his cue to leave, Anakin exited the speeder.

“General,” he said, offering Palpatine a low bow. Palpatine gave him a small smile that was difficult to read.

“Until tonight, my friend,” he said, as the door closed and the speeder zoomed away as Anakin watched from the steps of the Jedi Temple.

 

*******

 

In the darkness of his cell inside the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center, Tarkin sat with his eyes closed, trying to block out the shouts and inane babble of his fellow prisoner. He had been locked away in this place for four years, and had grown accustomed to many of the grim realities of the detention center, but the noise still unsettled him, and whatever poor unfortunate they were dragging in now was making a racket.

“I saw him!” someone screamed. “You have to believe me, please!” Tarkin heard the clone troopers who guarded the facility laughing.

“Oi, have you heard this one?” one guard said, still chuckling. “Says he’s seen Darth Maul!” Tarkin’s eyes snapped open. He got up and looked out through the force-field, listening carefully. He could see a few levels down where they were dragging the struggling Rodian inside.

“No, I saw him! I swear!” the Rodian pleaded, still resisting the guards. “He’s here on Coruscant!” The clone troopers laughed again.

“You’re full of it!” one of them said. “Crazy old spice junkie.”

“I’m telling you, it’s true! I can help you, I can help you find him! Please, please,” the Rodian sank to his knees, pleading.

“We don’t need to find him, he’s dead,” the other clone trooper said as he and his partner picked the Rodian up under his arms and flung him into a cell. “Now, get in your cell and keep quiet.” The Rodian’s cries continued for a few minutes, then faded away.

Tarkin went back to his seat on the hard palate that served as his bed. He knew better than to believe the ravings of a spice-addled Rodian. The guard was right, Darth Maul was dead. He was certain of it.

 

*******

 

Muck splashed with each step as Darth Maul followed Vigdis through the ever narrower tunnels of Coruscant’s ancient sewers. As the small band of Separatists got closer to the Senate Building, the tunnels became older and harder to navigate. They were now forced to walk single-file, stooping low to avoid hitting their heads. Maul despised the grime and the close-quarters, but he knew every step brought him closer to his goal.

“Wait!” Vigdis hissed ahead of him, coming to a stop. The column of soldiers ceased their forward motion, squinting in the darkness. “This is it,” Vigdis said, turning to Maul. Maul took a few steps forward to stand beside her. She pointed up to a large, rusted hatch.

“I doubt it still opens,” Vigdis remarked, reaching up to flake off some of the rust with her fingers.

“Leave that to me.” Maul clutched his lightsaber hilt in his hand and ignited one of the ruby reb blades. The tunnel around them glowed red as Maul stretched his arm up and began to cut away at the hatch above. The metal of the tunnel quickly gave way before the power of Maul’s weapon, and the Sith Lord stepped back quickly as the hatch fell to the floor with a tremendous clang.

“After you,” he said, gesturing to Vigdis. The Falleen jumped up and grabbed the edge of the newly cut hole to pull herself up and through, and Maul followed. Vigdis activated a glowstick to light the way as they emerged into the basement levels of the Senate Building. The air was thick with an ancient must. Maul wondered how many centuries had passed since anyone set foot in this part of the building.

“This way,” Vigdis called as the last their small crew came through the hole, “there’s an old security center over here.” Vigdis held up her glowstick to reveal a door leading into a room packed with ancient-looking consoles.

“Adisa,” Vigdis said, motioning forward a young human male. “Can you slice a way in from here?”

“Should be able too,” the boy said, brushing the dust of the seat in front of one of the consoles. Maul watched impatiently as the boy powered up console and set to work hacking his way into the security systems of the Senate Building. Fortunately, he did not have to wait long.

“I’m in,” Adisa said, grinning. Maul leaned over the boy’s shoulder to see the series of images now coming in from the security vid cams. Vigdis stood beside him, watching the screen as thousands of people milled around the Senate Building in their finery.

“It’s must be some kind of celebration,” Vigdis said, “Jedi, military officers, homeworld rulers. Most of the galaxy’s leadership is in that room,” she shook her head, as though unwilling to believe their good fortune. But Maul had no trouble believing.

“The Force is with us,” Maul said, his eyes gleaming. “Now, in their moment of triumph, we will destroy them.” He turned to Adisa. “Keep us out of sight,” he ordered the slicer, who nodded enthusiastically. “You three,” Maul said, pointing to a few of Vigdis’ soldiers, “stay here and keep watch.” He turned to the remainder of the crew. “The rest of you, with me.”

 

*******

 

In a quiet corner of the Jedi Temple’s library, Anakin sat and scrolled through the scanned texts of the ancient histories of the Sith. He’d spent most of the day buried in the library’s stacks, anxious to avoid running into his master. He assumed that if the Council had expelled him, someone would have been waiting for him when he returned to his room. But there was no one, so he’d freshened up and then made his way to the archives. 

He was drawn to the library after his discussion with General Palpatine. He felt compelled to revisit the history of the Sith, trying to understand Palpatine’s apparent admiration for them. He found what he expected, tales of cruelty and despotism, but he also began to see that Palpatine was right about one thing: the Sith were free in a way the Jedi would never be.

Palpatine’s words about the limitations of the Jedi drifted back into his mind, and he felt their truth. Perhaps the general was right. Perhaps he’d learned all he could from the Jedi. Perhaps it was time to break free. Without the Jedi Order holding him back, there were no limits to what he could become, to what he could have. What was more, there would be nothing stopping him from being with Padme.

Someone shuffled down the aisle across from him and he jumped in his seat, afraid Obi-Wan had tracked him down at last, but when he looked up he saw that it was only the wizened old librarian, Jocasta Nu.

“Young Skywalker,” she said, giving him a suspicious once-over. “You’ve been here an awfully long time.”

“It’s nice to be somewhere quiet, after spending so much time at the front,” Anakin said, quickly clearing the Sith histories from his reading tablet.

“Hmm,” Master Nu said, clearly not completely satisfied with his answer. “Well, I’m closing up the library now in order to attend the chancellor’s celebration,” she explained. “I imagine you’ll be expected there as well?” She asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, Master Nu,” Anakin said with a nod as he rose. He bowed deeply to the librarian. “Thank you.” She turned away to hurry up another patron, her long robes swishing against the stone floor. Anakin headed in the opposite direction and slipped out a side entrance. The day was quickly turning from afternoon to evening.

He considered hailing a hover taxi to take him to the Senate Building, but the evening air was warm and pleasant, and he decided to walk instead. There was an intoxicating appeal in the thought of leaving the Order, but there was much doubt and fear in his mind. He had been so certain a place in the Jedi Order was his destiny, how could he turn away from that now?

Anakin reached the Senate Building, it’s steps swarming with the galaxy’s leaders decked out in their finest. He hurried up the steps through the glitzy crowd. He knew that when he reached the celebration inside his first task was to make amends with Padme. _But what then?_ he wondered. He could see the many paths laid out before him, but he still didn’t know which one to take.

 

*******

 

Padme stood in the luxurious ballroom of the Senate Building, attempting to mingle among the honored guests of Chancellor Valorum. It was not something she relished. In fact, she hadn’t failed to notice that Valorum had spent most of the evening so far up in his private box, conferring with his aides, and occasionally disappearing back to his office. She envied him.

Picking a canape off a server droid’s tray, she joined a discussion among a few mid-rim senators about a trade embargo recently imposed on one of their worlds, but the conversation proved less than stimulating. All the politicians in attendance were skirting around the topic that was truly on everyone’s mind: the secrecy of the Ryloth campaign.

There was little doubt the lack of Senatorial involvement represented a gross overreach of power by the military, but one had to tread carefully. You could never be sure who was on what side. There was a nervous energy in the room as everyone tried to suss out each other’s position and motives. The war might be over, but a political storm was already brewing.

“Senator Naberrie!” A voice called out to her just as she was trying to think of a way to excuse herself from the conversation about trade embargos. Relieved, she turned away, only to have her hopes of rescue dashed. It was Ta’a Chume. The princess took Padme’s arm, and, resigned to her fate, Padme let her. “I do hope you’re feeling better after the other night.”

“Much better, thank you,” Padme assured her. “Just a touch of flu.”

“Yes, Princess Breha mentioned something to that effect. It seems you’ve made a swift recovery. I imagine you have quite a strong constitution, growing up as you did in a remote mountain village.” Padme knew Ta’a Chume didn’t mean it as a compliment, but she smiled anyway.

“That must be it,” she replied, determined not to let the Hapen princess get under her skin.

“Of course, what your little spell really reminded me of was when I was pregnant with my elder son,” the princess continued. Padme froze, but tried to keep her expression neutral. She could see that Ta’a Chume was watching her reaction very carefully.

“The nausea would come and go, just like that,” Ta’a Chume said breezily, waving her hand in the air. “I confess, if I didn’t know you were so determinedly unattached, I’d have thought you were expecting,” she said with a light laugh, pressing her hand against Padme’s arm. Padme said nothing, but was relieved to have her arm released as a service droid came by and Ta’a Chume reached over to snatch two cocktails off of it. “Care for a drink?”

“Padme!” Padme turned and saw Breha hailing her from across the room. Relief washed over her.

“Excuse me, your highness,” she said, avoiding being forced into refusing the drink. She left Ta’a Chume and hurried over to where Breha was standing near the rest of the royal delegation from Alderaan. “Stars’ end, that woman is insufferable,” she muttered to Breha as she came up to her. “I don’t think she bought your story about the Guavian flu. She suspects something.”

“Suspecting and knowing are very different,” Breha pointed out, taking a long sip from her drink.

“But she’s a vicious gossip, and the last thing I need is for her to start spreading rumours,” Padme said with frustration. “Especially one that happens to be true,” she added under her breath.

“At least you’ve had a chance to talk to Anakin,” Breha said. Padme looked away sheepishly, and Breha raised her eyebrows. “You did tell him,” Breha said, as though it were impossible Padme had done anything else, “didn’t you?”

“We had an argument,” Padme explained, not eager to rehash the experience with her friend.

“But you’ll tell him tonight?” Breha asked insistently. Padme sighed.

“Honestly, I’m not even sure if we’re on speaking terms right now,” Padme admitted. “Besides, I have to find the right moment. I need to know where he and I stand first.’

“Well, if you wait too much longer he might hear the news from someone else,” Breha reminded her.

“I know, I know.”  She knew Breha was right. “I’ll handle it,” she assured her friend. No sooner had she said it than she saw Anakin walk through the doors and into the ballroom. Breha spotted him too.

“Looks like you’re about to get your chance,” Breha said. “I’ll leave you to it.” Before Padme could protest Breha slipped back into the crowd, and a moment later Anakin was standing in front of her.

“Commander Skywalker,” she said, refusing to meet his eyes. She was still upset with him.

“Senator Naberrie,” he said, bowing his head slightly. She could hear the contrition in his voice, but she was determined not to let him off too easily. They stood in an awkward silence as the orchestra wrapped up one song and prepared to start the next. Suddenly, he held his hand out to her, looking at her expectantly.

“Would you care to dance?” he asked.

“What?” She stared at him, certain it was some kind of joke, but as she looked at him she realized it wasn’t. “You’re serious?” she asked.

“Of course,” he replied. Still somewhat hesitant, she gave him her hand and he led her out onto the dance floor just as the music picked up again. As the soaring chords of the song began, Anakin spun her around the room, executing the maneuvers of the dance with a surprising grace.

“Where did you learn to dance?” Padme asked as they glided across the room. She could already feel her anger fading away.

“It’s part of standard diplomatic training,” he answered with a shrug.

“You mean Obi-Wan taught you?” she asked, laughing as she thought of the Jedi Master attempting to teach Anakin the intricacies of a waltz.

“No,” Anakin said, laughing with her. “No, it was Master Nu,” he said, pointing at an elderly female Jedi seated on the far side of the room. “Are you jealous?” he asked, grinning.

“Very,” Padme said with mock seriousness. “But I know you have a thing for older women,” she teased, referring to the five years that separated their own ages.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think I’m her type,” he whispered to her.

“What a relief,” she said with laugh. How she had missed this, the flirtatious repartee with the young man she’d fallen in love with on Alderaan all those years ago. She’d been prepared for battle, but she found herself unexpectedly disarmed.

“I’m sorry about this morning,” Anakin said, turning serious. “I shouldn’t have left.” She was silent for a moment, considering her words.

“I understand why you did,” she said quietly, hoping none of the other dancers could hear them. “None of this is easy for me either you know.”

“I know,” he said softly. They made the next turn about the room in silence, and then the song ended. They stepped apart, each bowing in the traditional manner to signify the end of the dance. The next song started up, but Padme wasn’t interested in another dance. Instead, taking a quick glance around to make sure no one was paying too close attention, she took Anakin’s hand and pulled him toward the service door.

“Come on,” she said, “let’s get out of here.”

 

*******

 

“Where are we going?” Anakin asked as Padme pulled him out of the ballroom and through the kitchens. The service droids turned to look at them, but quickly went back to their work.

“You’ll see,” Padme said as they continued through the kitchens and out the other side, leading Anakin down a series of deserted service corridors. She pulled open another door that led into a small, dark room, then reached up and turned the handle of a ceiling hatch. The hatch opened, revealing the Coruscant sky above them.

“Give me a boost,” she said, pulling off her heeled shoes. Anakin, still uncertain exactly what was happening, bent his knees and entwined his fingers into a step. She hitched up the flowing fabric of her skirt and put her foot in his hands. He gave her a lift as she pushed off and grabbed the edges of the hatch opening, pulling herself the rest of the way through with her arms. Once she was up, she turned back and looked down at him expectantly.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be out there,” Anakin said hesitantly, his eyes taking in the warning labels plastered around the hatch.

“Since when do you care about breaking the rules?” Padme asked.  “Come on.” She disappeared from view. Anakin sighed, but reached up and pulled himself through the hatch and out onto the rooftop of the Senate Building.

Anakin immediately realized that the danger the warning labels had advertised was very real. They were standing somewhere near the top of the domed building, and the smooth surface of the roof sloped away from them for hundreds of meters. One slip and it would be a very long slide down to an even longer drop.

Padme, however, seemed unconcerned. She manuevered on the rooftrop with ease in her bare feet, walking a couple of meters from the hatch and taking a seat on the slope, stretching her legs out in front of her and crossing her ankles as she leaned back to take in the view. Anakin gingerly made his way over to her, trying to find purchase on the slick surface with his Jedi boots. Carefully, he sat down beside her.

He had to admit the view was fantastic. The brilliant reds and oranges of the Coruscant sunset glistened off the nearby towers, reflecting down on Anakin and Padme as they looked out on the city-planet from the secluded rooftop.

“I sneak up here sometimes, when I want to get away,” she told him.

“It is beautiful,” he said, “if a bit terrifying.” 

“The best things in life are usually both,” she said, looking over at him. They sat in silence for awhile, simply enjoying the sunset and the each other’s company, though Anakin could tell Padme was thinking something over, struggling to find the right words. Finally, she turned back to him. 

“I didn’t mean to spring anything on you this morning,” she said carefully, clearly hoping to renew their discussion without it devolving into another argument.

“I know,” he said. “And you didn’t, not really” he admitted. “My future with the Jedi is something that’s been on my mind as well, even if I’d rather not think about it.” He looked out at the five spires of the Jedi Temple in the distance. “Honestly, I half-expected to come back to the Temple this morning and discover the Council had expelled me for what happened on Ryloth.”

“What happened on Ryloth?” Padme asked, her brow furrowed. Anakin quickly backpedaled.

“Nothing,” he said evasively, but when she seemed unsatisfied with that answer, he continued, “war is not the normal purview of the Jedi,” he said, remembering General Palpatine’s words. “They don’t always understand what is necessary to succeed in battle. That’s all.” Padme continued to look troubled. He could almost see her mentally bookmarking this as something to come back to, but she had a more urgent concern.

“And what if they had expelled you?” she asked gently. “Could you be content with a life outside of the Jedi Order?” Anakin looked down into his lap, examining his hands. He’d asked himself that question a thousand times over the last two months, but the truth was, he still didn’t know the answer.

“I don’t know.”

“Then you must understand why I can’t ask you to leave,” she said. “I would rather end what’s between us than see it poisoned with resentment. 

“I understand,” Anakin said, nodding. He saw the wisdom in what she was saying.

“I know you’re afraid,” she continued, “I am too. It seems like no matter what we do it’s all going to come crashing down around us.” Her voice began to catch. “Everything is so uncertain.” She looked away from him as a tear began to roll down her cheek.

“There is one thing I’m certain of,” Anakin said, taking her face in his hands and wiping away her tears. “I love you. I always have,” he said. It was the most sure he’d felt about anything in a long time. “Maybe that’s enough,” he said, more to himself than to her. He could see a path forming before him, a path that led away from the Jedi and toward Padme, and in that moment he knew it was the path he wanted to walk down.

“I know that there are no guarantees,” he said, hardly believing the words were leaving his mouth,  but if there is even a chance of a future for us, I would give up everything for that.” Padme was taken aback, surprised by his sudden clarity on the matter. He was surprised too, but he felt in his heart it was right.  
  
“Even the Jedi?” she asked, still unsure. Anakin took a deep breath.

“Yes,” he told her, “even the Jedi.”

 

*******

 

“How is he?” Obi-Wan asked as he came into the medical bay. He could see Rex through the glass, under the careful observation of Shaak Ti, his fellow Jedi Master. She turned her head as Obi-Wan entered.

“Malnourished and disoriented, but he will pull through,” Shaak Ti said. Obi-Wan stood next to her as they watched Rex being attending to by medical droids on the other side of the glass.  “We’ll wait until he’s stabilized before we begin any tests,” she said. Obi-Wan nodded, stroking his beard thoughtfully. 

“If Bail Organa is right, we may find some very interesting results,” he said.

“Indeed,” she replied. “Aren’t you late for the Chancellor’s celebration?” she asked, looking at him sideways. Obi-Wan checked his chrono and sighed.

“It would appear so,” he said. He didn’t want to go the celebration at all, but he knew that he would be expected given the role he and Anakin had played in the victory on Ryloth. More than that he hoped Anakin, who had not seen for the entire day, would be there as well and that they might have a chance to talk. For that reason alone, he had to go. “You’ll keep me informed?”

“Of course,” she said, bowing her head.

“Thank you, Master Ti,” he said, returning the bow. Then he turned and went back up the steps and hurriedly made his way out of the temple, headed toward the Senate Building and the celebration that awaited.

 

*******

 

The quality of the air began to improve as the freight lift rose into the upper levels of the Senate Building. Darth Maul breathed deeply, relieved to be out of the stench of the underworld sewers. The lift was somewhat crowded with his assembled team, but soon they would be out in the open of the Senate’s luxurious corridors, sowing fear into the hearts of their enemies.

“Loop the security camera on floor seventy-three,” Vigdis ordered Asida through her comlink.

“Yes ma’am,” the voice responded. A few seconds later, the lift stopped on the seventy-third floor and the doors opened. They exited into an empty service corridor. Vigdis quickly found the access to the ventilation system in the lower part of the wall a few meters from the lift. She pried the grille off of the opening and most of her soldiers followed their squad leaders into the ventilation system, per the plan they’d laid out. Vigdis replaced the grille behind the last soldier, leaving only herself, Maul, and a small team of four Separatist soldiers.

“They should reach the ballroom within twenty minutes,” Vigdis said.

“We must move quickly.” Maul started off down the hall, keeping to one side, with the others following behind him in single file. They’d found a schematic of the building in the security files hacked by Adisa, and the map now displayed on a palm-heald holo-projector before Maul. The team moved quickly and silently, managing to avoid the few service staff in the area.

Maul kept his eye on the schematic until he reached their destination. They were now two floors above the Chancellor’s office. He brought the team to a halt by holding up his fist. He gestured for two of the soldiers to take up a defensive position in front of him. He could sense the adrenaline of each person around him. Everyone was on high alert. Maul pulled his lightsaber from his belt and ignited one blade.

Everyone tensed at the snap-hiss sound the weapon made as he activated it, but no security droids came rushing around the corner. Maul bent to his work, jamming the blade into the floor and swiftly cutting a large circle. The disc of cut duracrete dropped down into the room below, nearly crushing a Senate Guard below. The blue-armored guard looked up just in time to see Maul descend toward him from above, before Vigdis gave Adisa the order to cut the lights.

The room plunged into darkness, the only light coming from the dual blades of Maul’s lightsaber and the blaster bolts of the guards. It was all over in a few minutes. As the room went quiet, Vigdis ordered the lights back on and Maul blinked in the brightness of the light, taking in the view of his destruction. A dozen Senate Guards lay slain all around him. He calmly walked to the body of the head guard and removed his code cylinders as Vigdis and the others joined him.

“Someone may come investigating after that racket,” Vigdis said nervously, keeping her blaster up as she checked the lock on the door. Maul went to a nearby console and checked to see if any of the guards had succeeded in setting of an alarm. They hadn’t. He pointed to his accompanying soldiers. Apart from Vigdis he had selected all human males of a certain height and built, anticipating he might need someone to impersonate a Senate Guard.

“Get their armor on. Two of you stand guard outside this door,” he ordered. He took a code cylinder and inserted it into the controls of the door at the back of the room. The door slid open to reveal a stair, a stair he knew led directly into the Chancellor’s office. “With me,” he said to Vigdis and the two other soldiers, now clad as Senate Guards. They followed as he went through the door and down the stairs.

The office was empty. Maul positioned Vigdis and the two guards on either side of the door, where they would not be seen by anyone entering from the antechamber outside, while he took a seat at the desk, the stunning colors of the Coruscant sunset lighting up the window behind him. He activated his comlink. “Adisa, we’re in.”

“Yes, sir,” Adisa’s voice came through just above a whisper. “There are two guards, a protocol droid, and a secretary in the next room.” 

“Where is Valorum?”

“Headed back to his office. There are another four guards and two aides with him.”

“As soon as he enters the antechamber, lock the outer door and disable the security protocols for these chambers,” Maul ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Adisa said. Maul folded his arms across the desk, waiting. He could sense the fearful anticipation of his comrades. A few minutes passed, then Adisa’s voice came through the comlink again. “Target secure.”

A moment later, the door between the office and the antechamber opened. There was a beat of silence as the Chancellor and his entourage stood in shock. Then the guards opened fire and Maul raised his hand, deflecting the blaster bolts, as Vigdis and the two disguised soldiers emerged from behind, making quick work of the four guards.

The secretary, still in the antechamber, went for a blaster secured beneath his desk, but Vigdis dropped him before he could reach it, and blasted the protocol droid for good measure. Chancellor Valorum and his two aides, quaking with fear, put up their hands in surrender. Valorum’s face was ashen.

“Good evening, Chancellor,” Maul said, grinning at his prisoner from behind the desk,  “so glad you could join us.”


	7. Under Attack

**Under Attack**

Padme stared at Anakin, hardly believing what she'd just heard. I would give up everything...even the Jedi. His words echoed in her mind as he looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to say something back. She felt her heart begin to beat faster. Now was the moment. She had to tell him everything.

"Anakin, there's something you should know," she began, her voice shaking slightly. She paused, swallowing hard, her lips pressed together as though her body was unwilling to let her explain further. A look of concern was starting to spread over Anakin's face. Then the silence around them was broken by an all too familiar sound, causing both of them to look back toward the Senate Building.

"Was that blaster fire?" Anakin asked disbelievingly. They'd both been in war zones too often to mistake the sound for anything else, but Padme never expected to hear the zing of blaster bolts coming from the halls of the Senate Building.

"It certainly sounded like it," she replied. She could feel the adrenaline starting to kick in, and she went into autopilot from her days with the Rogues. Their conversation would have to wait, now was no time to be caught waxing romantic on a rooftop. She hitched up her skirt and pulled a small blaster from the thigh holster concealed beneath her dress. Anakin raised an eyebrow at her.

"It never hurts to be prepared," she said with a shrug. Standing up, she made her way back to the open hatch, the metal of the rooftop cold against her bare feet. Anakin followed, careful to watch his footing on the sloped surface of the building's dome. Padme crouched at the edge of the hatch and peered through it.

"Anything?" Anakin whispered as he knelt beside her.

"It looks clear," she said.

"I'll make sure," Anakin said as he stood up, unclipping the lightsaber from his belt. He leapt down through the hatch, landing in a crouch on the floor below. There was a snap-hiss as he ignited his weapon and casting blue light into the shadows. "It's fine," he said, looking up at her through the hatch, "come on."

Padme holstered her blaster and grabbed the edge of the hatch, swinging lightly down through the hole. Anakin listened at the door into the corridor for a moment, then opened it and stepped through. Padme drew her blaster again and followed him out into the hall in her bare feet, leaving her impractical shoes behind.

They made their way down the service corridor back toward the ballroom. Anakin kept his lightsaber ignited, and Padme's blaster was at the ready. As they walked, the sounds of another barrage of blaster fire echoed through the hall. They simultaneously pressed themselves into a doorway, but Padme quickly realized they were well away from danger.

"It sounds like it's coming from the Senatorial offices," Padme said, stepping out from the doorway and looking back down the corridor. "It can't be more than a few floors above us though."

"Who has offices in that area?" Anakin asked, also breaking cover. Padme considered for a moment, consulting her mental map of the building.

"Several prominent senators, and..." her eyes went wide as the terrible realization hit her, "and the chancellor." She saw Anakin's grip tighten on his lightsaber. "We have to go get help,"she said, turning back toward the ballroom. He nodded, and started to follow her, but his eyes were far away and distracted. They didn't make it more than two steps down the hall before Anakin spun around as though startled by something.

"What is it?" she asked, peering down the hall. She couldn't hear or see anything suspicious.

"No," he said to himself, shaking his head, "it can't be." He seemed to be almost in a trance. He'd sensed something, but she had no idea what.

"Anakin," she said, placing her hand lightly on his arm. He jumped at her touch, like he'd forgotten she was there. "What's going on?" He looked fearful for a moment, but then she saw his jaw set with resolve.

"Go back to the ballroom and alert the other Jedi," Anakin said, pulling away from her.

"Where are you going?" she demanded as he started down the hall.

"To find a dead man," he said cryptically, turning back just long enough to reply.

"What the hell does that mean?" Padme asked, bewildered, but Anakin was already running down the hall in the opposite direction. "Anakin!" she shouted after him, but he disappeared around the corner and didn't look back. "Anakin, wait!"

Padme took a step forward to follow him, but then stopped short. In her mind, she heard the rapid rhythm of two heartbeats that were not her own. Her days of running headlong into danger without a second thought were over. She took a deep breath, pushing aside her impulse to go after Anakin, and turned to continue toward the ballroom alone.

 

*******

 

"Lock us down," Maul ordered Adisa through the comm. Within seconds he heard the sound of the blast doors closing and shielded blinds lowered over the window behind him. Maul turned to the chancellor. "Please," he said, standing and gesturing to the chair behind the desk, "sit."

"You're supposed to be dead," Valorum muttered as he slowly made his way around the desk and took his seat, always keeping one eye on Maul. The chancellor's fear was spreading through the Force, and Maul fed on it.

"It was not yet my time," Maul said thoughtfully, staring down Valorum. "But it may soon be yours."

"Do you have any idea how many military personnel, how many Jedi, are in this building right now?" Valorum asked spitefully, his fingers gripping the arms of his chair.

"I do," Maul said with a nod. The hint of a smile played across his face. "I most certainly do."

"The charges are set," Vigdis confirmed, coming back into the office from the antechamber and holding up the comlink to indicate she'd reached her crew. "Everyone is in position." Maul fixed his yellow eyes on Valorum.

"Now, Chancellor, it is time to do your part," Maul said, stepping in close to the trembling politician. "I believe the wartime powers the Senate granted you are very extensive. Time to put that power to good use." Maul flipped a switch and the console in the desk lit up. "You will order the immediate shutdown of the security systems of the Separatist prison ships," Maul commanded.

"And if I don't?" Valorum asked shakily, staring at the screen before him. Maul sat on the edge of the desk, taking the measure of his prisoner. He sensed Valorum's will was not strong. He would have no great difficulty in getting what he wanted.

"I assure you, cooperation or death are your only choices," Maul said with a sinister smile. "And if you decide on death," he added, drawing Sola's knife and twirling the ancient vibroblade in his hand, "know that it will not be swift, or painless." Maul watched Valorum's frightened eyes as they tracked the gleaming edge of the knife. "What will it be, Chancellor?"

 

*******

 

"Rations," the guard announced gruffly as he approached the force-field of Tarkin's cell. Tarkin stood and walked up to the forcefield as the guard punched a code into the control pad outside. A small square opened up in the forcefield, and through it the guard handed Tarkin a tray. Tarkin's nose wrinkled as he looked down at his dinner, but he'd learned the hard way complaining would only earn him a beating.

Quashing his desire to throw the tray back in the guard's face, Tarkin took his meal without a word and the guard moved on. Tarkin sat resignedly at the edge of his bench and picked at the prison's pitiful excuse for food, but his dinner was soon interrupted as he heard an alarm sound on the control deck.

Tarkin set aside his tray and cautiously moved to the edge of his cell. He backed up slightly as group of clone troopers double-timed past his cell. He lurked just out of sight, blending into the shadowy corner at the front of his cell. From his position, he could just overhear the conversation taking place on the control deck.

"What the hell is going on?" the warden demanded to know, emerging from his office and onto the control deck.

"Sir, we've received a report that there is rioting on the prison ships," a clone trooper reported. "It's some kind of security breach." Tarkin's heart lept. This could be the chance he'd been waiting for the last four years.

"Initiate emergency protocols, we could be the next target," the warden ordered. Within seconds, the security doors all around the prison slammed shut. Tarkin stepped back as a durasteel grid closed over the forcefield of his cell and locked in place. The small slivers of light coming in through the windows vanished as blast doors slid over them.

"Emergency protocols are activated, sir. We're in full lock down," the trooper reported. Tarkin sighed heavily and returned to his bench. He stared a moment at his rations, then set the tray on the floor and pushed it to the far side of the cell with his foot. What little appetite he'd had was gone, along with his hope of escape. His long wait would have to continue.

 

*******

 

Obi-Wan stood at the entrance to the Senate Building's ballroom, scanning the crowd for his wayward apprentice. He was certain Anakin had to be there, somewhere. Wondering how a man so tall could be so hard to find, Obi-Wan made his way further into the ballroom. Standing on tiptoe occasionally to look out over the crowd, he began to realize that he didn't see any Jedi in the ballroom. His senses tingled. Something was amiss.

"Wrong way, Kenobi," a familiar voice said behind him. Obi-Wan spun around in surprise and saw KeAnn Lyosar, decked out in a ballgown but looking deadly serious. "Come with me," she said, grabbing his elbow and steering him back out of the ballroom.

"What's going on?" he asked her, confused. "Where are all the Jedi?"

"There's been some kind of riot on the prison ships," she whispered as they walked back out into the hallway.

"A riot?" Obi-Wan exclaimed. KeAnn shushed him.

"Keep it down!" she hissed, glancing around. "Do you want to start a panic?"

"Sorry," he said, lowering his voice.

"The Jedi and the top military personnel are with General Palpatine in the building's command center, and that's where we're headed," KeAnn said quietly, leading them through a door that required her to use a code cylinder to open it. They passed through a series of other secured doors and finally arrived at a blast door guarded by four clone troopers, who punched them through to the command center.

"I found a straggler," KeAnn said as they entered the dimly lit room. A group of Jedi and Republic military leaders were gathered around a holoprojector, all looking worried as they muttered to one another and pointed to the floating diagram of the three Republic prison ships currently orbiting Coruscant.

"Ah, Master Kenobi," General Palpatine turned from the holo to greet him. "Glad you could join us." Obi-Wan bowed to the general and found a spot in the circle between KeAnn and Palpatine. The doors behind them opened again and a young officer entered.

"Sir, we still haven't been able to track down the chancellor," the officer reported to Palpatine in a nervous whisper just loud enough for Obi-Wan to overhear. "He isn't responding to his comm alert and no one can get through on the comm to his office." Obi-Wan saw Palpatine's jaw briefly clench in frustration. It was widely known that there was no love lost between the general and Chancellor Valorum.

"Take two guards and go up to his office yourself," Palpatine ordered. "I want him found."

"Yes, sir." The young officer rushed out again. Palpatine took a moment to compose himself, and Obi-Wan could almost see him pasting the veneer of genial authority back over his face.

"It appears the chancellor may be enjoying our celebration rather too much," Palpatine said with a smile. A few people laughed half-heartedly. "I don't believe we can wait on the leader of our Republic any longer. Director Organa, we're ready for your report," Palpatine said, gesturing toward Bail Organa on the other side of the projector.

"At 0700 hours we received reports from each of the ships of security system failures," Bail said, stepping forward. He pressed a series of buttons on the projector, illuminating different sections of each ship. "The crews of the Drall and the Tralus still have control of their armories and bridges. The armory of the Selonia, however, was overrun," Bail explained, magnifying the diagram of the ship in question. "The prisoners on that ship are armed and it is likely only a matter of time before the ship is entirely under their control."

"I will not have our ships stolen out from under our very noses," Palpatine said, a cold anger in his voice. "This is supposed to be our moment of victory."

"We can get troops onto those ships with space-worthy AT-TEs," Admiral Yularen suggested. "It won't take our clone troopers long to subdue the prisoners."

"Good. We'll play it off as a military preparedness drill, no reason to alert the general public to this...inconvenience," Palpatine said thoughtfully. "In the meantime, I want to know who or what is responsible for this breach."

"It could be a glitch in the system," Master Windu noted. "Those ships are long past their glory days."

"Unfortunately, I doubt it was an accident," Bail said, shaking his head. "That all three systems should fail at once suggests a coordinated attack."

"A slicer?" Master Unduli asked.

"More than likely," Bail said with a nod. "Though it would take a truly gifted individual to run a hack like this. In theory, only the chancellor should have sufficient clearance to shut down security systems on the prison ships." A tense silence filled the room as everyone's thoughts rushed through a series of dire scenarios, but it was soon broken by the voice of the officer manning the comm.

"General, there's an urgent communication coming through from Lieutenant Dieffen," the officer at the comm announced.

"Put him through," Palpatine ordered. The comm officer flipped a switch and the worried face of the young officer who'd reported on the chancellor at the beginning of their meeting appeared in the holoprojector.

"Sir, the chancellor's office is locked down," the officer said. Obi-Wan could see sweat pouring down the sides of the poor man's face. "There's no way to get inside. And…" the officer hesitated.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" Palpatine demanded.

"The guards from the floor below heard blaster fire coming from inside the office." There was an audible gasp inside the room. Their worst fears seemed all but confirmed. Obi-Wan's mind raced, trying to take it all in and make sense of it. Whatever was happening was far greater than rioting prisoners.

"Stay there and set up a guard, we'll send reinforcements," Palpatine told Dieffen before disconnecting. "Do we have visuals in the ballroom?"

"One moment, sir." Obi-Wan felt dread beginning to creep into the room. He felt a cold malevolence through the Force, not unlike the sensation he'd had just before the attack above Geonosis, but he put that thought aside. Maul was long gone. "Sir, I...I can't seem to get a visual of the ballroom," the officer admitted.

"We've pulled every Jedi and every military officer out of that room," KeAnn pointed out somberly.

"The prison ships were just a distraction!" a Republic flight commander seethed, banging his fist on the edge of the projector.

"The ballroom being cut off from our communication system doesn't necessarily mean it's being attacked," Bail pointed out. "It could be a trick to throw us off balance."

"We must assume the worst," Palpatine said. "This could be an act of all-out war and we have the leadership of most of the galaxy in that ballroom."

"We should mobilize our full might," Yularen said, "and quickly, before this gets any further out of hand."

"I agree," Palpatine said. "Get your troops up to those prison ships and bring them back under our control. I want a perimeter set up around the entire Senate District, no one gets in or out. Organa, get your people on tracing this supposed slicer, I want to know who is in our system," Palpatine ordered.

"I will lead a team of Jedi to the chancellor's office," Master Windu said, jumping in. "The others will assist in securing the building."

"You have your orders," Palpatine said, looking around the room. "May the Force be with us."

 

*******

 

Darth Maul. Anakin tried to wrap his head around the dark and malevolent presence he felt nearby as he rode the lift up to the floor of the chancellor's office. It can't be Maul, his mind reasoned, Maul is dead, your mother killed him. You were there, you saw. But the more he thought about it, the less certain he was. Maul was badly wounded, his ship destroyed, but Anakin had never actually seen the Zabrak's lifeless body.

The lift doors opened and Anakin sprinted down the hall. There was only one way to know for sure if the presence he sensed belonged to his old enemy, and that was to see for himself. He didn't know the layout of the building well, so he relied on his instincts. He was so caught up in finding the right office that he didn't realize there was someone else in the hallway until he nearly crashed into him coming around the corner.

"Master Windu!" Anakin exclaimed as he pulled up just short of colliding with the Jedi Master. Master Windu fixed him with a disapproving stare.

"Anakin," Master Windu said, lowering the purple blade of his just-ignited lightsaber. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard blaster fire, I sensed…" he hesitated, uncertain how much to divulge. "I sensed something was wrong."

"There's been some kind of attack," Windu explained. "You'd better come with me." Anakin nodded and followed the Jedi Master down the hall where two more Jedi were waiting to meet them.

"I see you found the source of one disturbance," Luminara Unduli said to Master Windu as they approached. Her apprentice, Barriss Offee, stood beside her.

"Anakin heard the blaster fire as well and came to investigate," Windu said. Anakin bowed slightly to the other Jedi in greeting. "We need to keep moving. Lieutenant Dieffen is expecting us at the chancellor's office."

"Then the chancellor was the target?" Anakin asked as they began to move down the hall at a brisk pace.

"We'll find out soon enough," Master Windu muttered. Anakin could sense the unease among his fellow Jedi. He felt it too. With every step the dark and sinister presence he associated with Darth Maul grew stronger. They turned a corner and came upon a gaggle of clone troopers and a young naval officer examining a set of closed blast doors.

"Thank the Force," the lieutenant said with relief, running up to them. "I don't know what to do, we can't get these doors open."

"Do we have confirmation the chancellor is inside?" Master Windu asked.

"He was seen headed this way shortly before news of the riots on the prison ships came through." Anakin looked up sharply. No one had shared that bit of news with him.

"What riots?" he whispered to Barriss as Windu and the lieutenant continued to chat.

"Someone shut down security on the prison ships," she whispered back. Anakin's heart sunk. The situation was even worse than he'd thought.

"There's no way inside, these blast doors are impossible to open."

"Not for a Jedi," Master Unduli said, igniting her lightsaber.

"Stand back," Master Windu ordered, activating his own blade. The two Jedi stepped forward and, in unison, attempted to plunge their blades into the blast doors. However, instead of slicing easily through the doors as expected, the laser swords barely scratched the surface, the metal refusing to yield to the Jedi weapons.

"Nothing should be able to stop a lightsaber like that!" Anakin insisted, watching in shock as Master Windu and Master Unduli withdrew their weapons. Master Windu touched the metal of the blast doors as though the very feel of the material would tell him something. Anakin noticed the doors were painted, but the paint had melted and chipped away where the lightsabers struck it, revealing the metal below.

"Sith-forged," Master Windu said, his brow furrowed. Anakin looked at him quizzically. "Metal put through a special forging process to make it lightsaber resistant." Windu explained, "An ancient Sith technique."

"But why would the chancellor have such doors?" Anakin asked, also running his hand along the exposed metal. There was something familiar in its shine.

"And where would he get them?" Master Unduli added, examining the metal for herself.

"Questions for another time," Master Windu said softly as he backed away from the door, looking up and down the hall. "Right now we need to find another way into this office. Lieutenant, have your men spread out down the hall and to the floor above. There must be a weakness somewhere we can exploit."

"Right away, sir."

"Master Windu," Anakin said as the clone troopers dispersed around them, "there's something else."

"Yes?"

"I sense a familiar presence in that room," Anakin said, his voice uncertain. "The presence of someone who I thought was dead."

"Whose presence?" Master Windu asked quietly, looking intently at Anakin.

"Darth Maul's."

 

*******

 

Obi-Wan moved through the halls of the Senate Building, dashing from one point of cover to the next, his unlit lightsaber held tightly in his hand. He and the other Jedi were spread out in the circular corridors around the ballroom, scouting out the situation. And from where he was standing, it did not look good.

He ducked behind a column and peered around it, taking in the two large and rough looking aliens guarding the ballroom entrance nearest him. There were a limited number of ways to get inside the ballroom, and this one was clearly blocked. Behind the guards Obi-Wan could see the blast doors of the room were closed.

"Third floor north entrance is sealed off," he reported in to the others through his comm, "two guards." He knelt behind the column, waiting to hear from his fellow Jedi.

"Same on the first floor," the voice of Master Fisto said through the comm. A series of similar replies followed.

"We can handle the guards easily enough," Master Ki-Adi-Mundi pointed out, jumping into the comm conversation.

"If we attack, we risk the lives of the hostages inside," Kit Fisto responded. "We must find another way." Obi-Wan peeked back around the column and tried to think of another option. None came to him, but then out of the corner of his eye he saw something move to his far left. He muted his comlink and crept out from his cover, headed away from the guarded ballroom and towards the flicker of movement he'd spotted.

The thick pile of the carpet muffled the footfalls of his boots as he gingerly sprinted across the corridor and turned a corner, trying to outflank whoever was coming from the other direction. The corridors around the ballroom were wide and high, and there were plenty of support columns for him to hide behind. He snuck up to one and glanced around it, waiting.

A few seconds passed before he saw a familiar silhouette dart from one column to another, blaster drawn. Padme. He plotted her trajectory in his mind. She was definitely headed for the ballroom. He had to get to her first, he couldn't risk an altercation with a guard that could set off retribution against the hostages.

Moving quickly, his footfalls silent on the thick carpet, Obi-Wan maneuvered his way around and behind Padme's position. He could see she was eyeing the guards at the nearest entrance, calculating her next move. As she took a tentative step forward, Obi-Wan knocked against the column he was concealed behind. Padme spun around, her blaster zeroed in on his head as he peaked around the side of the column.

Her blaster dropped as she recognized him, and he saw the tension go out of her shoulders. He put a finger to his lips and jerked his head toward an open lift a few paces away. She nodded and followed him as he made for the lift. Obi-Wan stood aside to let Padme enter the lift first, then scanned the area one last time for enemies before following her inside.

"I could have shot you!" she whispered as the lift doors closed. Obi-Wan quickly jammed the controls so the lift remained stationary and the doors wouldn't open from outside.

"You could have tried," he said wryly. "How did you get out of the ballroom?"

"I wasn't in there when the attack happened," she explained vaguely, waving off the question. Obi-Wan thought she looked slightly guilty. "Have you seen Anakin?"

"No," he said knowingly, raising his eyebrows at her, "have you?"

"We heard the blaster fire in the office wing and he rushed off to investigate," she said hurriedly.

"Of course he did," Obi-Wan said with a sigh. He'd left Anakin to his own devices for a few hours and he'd gone gallivanting off with an old flame and dashed into danger. What else did you expect? the voice in his head asked, but he silenced it. "I'm sure he's fine, Master Windu and a few other Jedi are also on their way to the chancellor's office." Padme nodded, though he could see she was still worried. She wasn't alone.

"What's going on?" Padme asked, steering the conversation away from Anakin. "Are we under attack?" Obi-Wan quickly laid out for her what he knew of the infiltration of the Senate Building and the riots on the prison ships. Her face darkened as he explained the hostage situation in the ballroom.

"Do the Jedi have a plan for liberating the ballroom?" she asked.

"We were just discussing that," he said, holding up his comlink. "We can't start taking out guards and chance a massacre."

"No, agreed," she said. "What we really need is a way to get in without being noticed."

"Every blast door is sealed and every entrance guarded, there's no way inside," Obi-Wan pointed out. Padme frowned, thinking.

"Actually, there might be," she said, looking up at him as inspiration struck. She punched the controls for the lift, opening the doors, and grabbed his arm to lead him back into the hall. "Come on, Kenobi, follow me."

 

*******

 

"Patch us into the ballroom," Maul ordered into the comm as he activated the holoprojector in Valorum's desk. A moment later the ballroom flashed into existence before them, a sea of over-dressed government officials and dignitaries, all looking quite nervous as armed guards roamed among them and blocked the doors. There were numerous gasps as the image of the supposedly deceased Sith Lord emerged at the center of the room. Maul soaked up their shock and terror.

"Greetings, leaders of the Republic," he began, looking into the holocam. He kept the visual only on him for now, waiting to reveal his prisoner. "I am afraid the celebration of your victory against the Separatists was premature."

"There are Jedi outside the door," one of the guards whispered anxiously as he watched the feed from the security cams. Maul muted the holocam and stepped over to look. The guard was right. Four Jedi stood outside the main entrance to the office, along with a Republic officer and a gaggle of clone troopers.

"The doors will hold them," Maul insisted, moving back toward the desk.

"I've never seen a door that can hold a Jedi," Vigdis said nervously.

"The doors will hold," Maul said again. "Besides, we won't need to worry about the Jedi for much longer." Maul turned the cam back on and resumed his address to the ballroom. "All of you, along with your chancellor, are now my prisoners." Here, for dramatic effect, Maul tilted the camera to show Valorum, strapped to his chair and sweating profusely.

"They're doing something to the blast doors," the guard at the security feed muttered to Vigdis. Maul ignored them, continuing on.

"There are charges set all around the ballroom, ready to be detonated on my command," Maul explained. "My men are guarding every entrance and exit."

"Are they meditating?" Vigdis asked the guard. Maul flashed a warning look at the pair of them, hunkered over the monitor, but they paid him no heed. He turned back to the holocam, trying to focus on the task at hand.

"There is no escape." The rest of the crew was now watching the security monitor, their collective muttering rising in volume. Maul's temper flared. "Surrender is your only option," Maul finished, then cut the signal before rounding on his crew. "Enough!" he shouted, as they all stood, staring at the screen, but they seemed unfazed by his anger, transfixed as they were by what was transpiring outside the office door.

"Sir, you'd better take a look at this," Vigdis said, motioning him over. Maul's anger was still hot. This was supposed to be his moment of triumph. He had no time for meddling Jedi distracting his soldiers. But he knew better than to discount the danger.

"They're opening the blast doors with their magic," one of the guards said, pointing to the screen. Maul squinted at the monitor. He could see the Jedi, covered by their clone troopers, sitting in a line, legs crossed, and in front of them the impenetrable blast doors were slowly opening.

"It isn't magic you fool," Maul snarled, pushing the guard aside "it's the Force." Maul did not have time for this. The Jedi could destroy everything. He would have to accelerate his plan. "I think the time has come to bid our Jedi friends farewell." Maul pulled the datacard from his pocket and strode back to the desk.

"What's that?" Valorum asked as Maul inserted the datacard into the console. "What are you doing?"

"Executing an order you should have given long ago." Maul said as he waited for the datacard to load. Valorum's face went ashen.

"Order 66?" he asked, panicking. "No," Valorum said, shaking his head, "you don't understand. You can't."

"Oh, but I can," Maul said as the console lit up, telling him everything was ready. The order was prepared to broadcast to all channels. This was it. "And unlike you, I will." Maul activated the encrypted order stored on the datacard with the press of a button. He turned back to the security monitor, waiting for the inevitable betrayal of the Jedi by their own clones, a wondrous sight he had witnessed once before. But it never came.

"Was something supposed to happen?" Vigdis asked after several tense minutes passed. Maul rushed over to the monitor, slamming his fist against it as though there might be an issue with the feed, but he knew there wasn't. Instead, he saw the clones propping open the blast doors and his enemies streaming into the antechamber just outside.

"What did you do?" Maul snarled, rounding on Valorum. The chancellor cowered in fear as Maul lunged back toward the desk, towering over him. "Those clones should have turned on the Jedi! Why didn't it work?"

"I tried to tell you…" Valorum squeaked.

"Tell me what?" Maul roared.

"M-m-m-my authorization isn't sufficient," Valorum stuttered, "not after what happened at Geonosis." Maul grabbed Valorum by the throat, brandishing the vibroblade in his other hand.

"Then whose authorization do I need?" Maul asked, his anger on the edge of boiling over. He could feel Valorum struggling for breath.

"Gen...Gen…" Maul relaxed his grip slightly. "General Palpatine," Valorum spat out at last, gasping as Maul released him.

"They're coming through!" Vigdis shouted as a sizzling sound rended the air and four molten orange spots appeared on the blast doors between the office and the antechamber. But Maul barely registered the imminent arrival of the Jedi. His mind was reeling. Palpatine. How long had it been since he'd heard the name of his old master? And now, ironically, the man who had tasked him with the destruction of the Jedi was all that stood between Maul and the fulfillment of that dream.

"What do we do now?" Vigdis asked, backing away from the failing blast doors. Maul looked up, forcing himself back into the present. He could not reach his master now, he knew that. To protect his identity, Palpatine was almost always cut off from the Force. But it wasn't too late. He just had to find someplace safe, someplace where his master could come to him. First, though, he would have to deal with the Jedi.

 

*******

 

"Blasters at the ready!" Dieffen shouted to his troopers as the standard blast doors between the antechamber and the office melted away. Anakin held the hilt of his lightsaber tightly, ignoring the urge to step away from the burning heat of the molten metal. Beside him, Barriss stepped aside as a large chunk of the doors fell away. Almost immediately, blaster fire came pouring through it.

"Hold your fire!" Master Windu ordered the clones, who worked their way to the sides for better cover. "We can't hit the chancellor." Anakin scoffed internally at Windu's caution. If it really was Maul in there, they had to move quickly and decisively. Not waiting for orders, Anakin moved out from the door and dove through the large opening Barriss had created.

A blaster bolt singed his tunic, but he rolled out of his dive unhurt, lightsaber at the ready. Someone set off a smoke bomb, turning the air around him opaque. They came at him through the mist, but he was ready. He cut down a Separatist dressed as a Republic guard and deflected a blaster bolt into the chest of another disguised in the same way. Then, a cold and familiar voice came drifting through the smoke.

"Well, well," Darth Maul said as he emerged from the swirling cloud, holding a knife to Chancellor Valorum's throat. Anakin felt his blood start to boil. Maul was alive. "Young Skywalker," Maul said. "We meet again."

By now the other Jedi and their backup had joined Anakin in the main office. The smoke was clearing, and Anakin could see two more men disguised as guards and a Faleen female with a tight grip on a second hostage.

"Darth Maul," Master Windu said, his purple lightsaber gleaming as he held it in front of him,"release the chancellor. It's over."

"Oh, I don't think so," Maul said, turning his eyes from Anakin to Windu. "In fact, it's only just beginning." Anakin heard a click and just saw the Faleen's arm twitch slightly as she activated a detonator. Another series of smoke bombs went off, detonated remotely, and before the smoke cleared there was the sound of blaster fire and shattering glass.

Anakin charged forward without thinking, swinging wildly, hoping to hit something, anything, and put a stop to Maul's escape, but he met only empty air. He stumbled over an overturned chair and toppled forward, nearly falling out the broken window before Master Windu grabbed his arm and pulled him back from the edge.

"They're gone," Windu said, stepping to the ledge and looking over it. Maul and his compatriots had gone out the window with grappling guns. The clone troopers took a few pot shots as the disappearing dots in the distance, but it was too late. The Separatists and their prisoners were already safely away, some twenty floors down.

"Hangar bay," Master Unduli said. Master Windu nodded.

"The chancellor's yacht." He pulled out his comlink. "We need reinforcements in the chancellor's private hangar, now."

"There are maintenance tunnels we can use to get there faster," Anakin said helpfully, already halfway out the door."

"Master Unduli and I will handle that," Windu said. "You and Barriss will return to the commander center and report to General Palpatine." Anakin shook his head urgently, unwilling to be pulled off the hunt.

"Sir, let me go after Maul," Anakin begged. "I can end this."

"This is no task for an apprentice, Skywalker," Windu said sternly, and, before Anakin could protest, Windu was sprinting down the hall with Master Unduli and the clone troopers in tow.


	8. The Flight of Darth Maul

**The Flight of Darth Maul**

The hangar in the Senate Building included a secured section reserved for the chancellor's vessels, and as soon as they reached it Maul shoved Valorum off on one of his compatriots and quickly dispatched the guards, his red lightsaber flashing through their necks with ease. He grabbed Valorum, dragging him forward to press his hand into the access panel. Vigdis held onto the chancellor's assistant, who whimpered as the prisoners were forced to march toward Valorum's yacht.

"Wait," Vigdis said as they drew closer to the ship. "We have to wait for the others."

"We cannot wait," Maul said, holding his knife to Valorum's back as he entered the access code to lower the gangway. "There isn't time."

"If we blow those charges, we could end up killing our own people," she reminded him, clearly nervous about his plan.

"Your people," Maul reminded her. He was not concerned with the lives of two dozen soldiers. "A small price to pay." He started to go up the gangway but again Vigdis stopped him.

"What if they're captured?" she pointed out. "They could lead the Republic right to us."

"No, they can't. Not where we are going," Maul said.

"And where is that, exactly," one of the guards asked. Maul looked at the three crew he had left. He could sense their distrust. This was not the plan they'd signed on for. The Jedi were supposed to be dead, not chasing them down. They were on the verge of turning on him.

"I will cut you all down where you stand if you question my orders one more time," Maul said with sinister intensity as he stared them down. Fear was the only way to keep them in line, and he could see them each calculating their chances. Vigdis glanced at the bodies of the decapitated hangar guards next to them, and finally, reluctantly, nodded.

"You're the boss," she said, albeit through clenched teeth. Maul turned and walked up the gangway, pushing Valorum ahead of him, and the others followed. He sent one of the guards to lock up their prisoners, while he and the others went to the bridge.

"Take us into orbit," Maul ordered as the remaining guard settled into the pilot's seat. "It's time for us to rendezvous with our fellow Separatists." He turned back to Vigdis. "You have the detonator?"

"Charges are armed," she said, holding the device up.

"There's nothing like the destruction of innocent life to throw a Jedi off the trail," Maul said, taking the detonator from her. "Say farewell to the leaders of the Republic." As the yacht zipped into orbit he brought his thumb down on the red activation switch.

 

*******

 

Adrenaline pumped through Padme's veins as she led Obi-Wan down a back stairwell toward the recently renovated kitchens of the Senate ballroom. If she was being completely honest with herself, she'd missed this: the action, the danger, the imminent possibility of death. It was a rush unlike any other, but now there was a new, nagging voice at the back of her mind, pestering her that it was not just her own life she was risking anymore, but she did her best to tune it out.

"Through here," she said, pulling Obi-Wan around a corner and pausing, making sure the corridor was clear. "

"Where, exactly, are you leading us?" Obi-Wan asked, looking around at the unfamiliar portion of the building.

"They just redid this section of the building a few months ago," Padme explained, moving forward again. "If I'm right and they're operating off an old schematic, they have no idea about this access point to the ballroom."

"Surely they will have found it by now?" Obi-Wan asked, distrustful of her hunch.

"I doubt it," she said. "It's a service entrance, it's not meant to be noticed." Obi-Wan didn't look entirely comforted, but they kept moving. At last Padme found the unassuming little door she'd been looking for. Obi-Wan stood, lightsaber at the ready, as she punched the controls to open it, but she'd been right. There were no enemies here.

They hurried down the narrow passage, which rose up a floor, connecting the kitchens to the lowest level of the ballroom. The area was deserted. Whatever service staff or droids had been humming along it seemed to have fled in the wake of the attack. At the end of the passage was another door, a concealed entrance that Padme knew blended almost seamlessly with the wall panels in the ballroom on the other side.

Ever so gently she pushed the panel open, cracking it just enough to see into the ballroom. Most of the guests were clustered in groups, anxiously whispering to one another. Onlysmall section of the room was visible from her vantage point, but she could see guards posted at every entrance within her range of vision. Padme scanned the crowd for Breha, hoping her friend would be close.

She was lucky. She saw the Princess of Alderaan leaning nonchalantly against a pillar a few meters away, looking more annoyed than worried. Padme understood. It took more than a few armed criminals to frighten those who had spent years fighting on the front lines of the war. Next to her, however, Queen Salma seemed decidedly less relaxed.

Padme pursed her lips and whistled three low notes, an old signal of the Rogues. It was quiet enough not to be noticed in the white noise of an anxious crowd, unless you had been trained to listen for it. Padme saw Breha turn toward her at the sound, but not too quickly. She knew better than to give herself away. She saw Breha's eyes settle on the ajar wall panel, and slowly, carefully, stopping to talk for a moment here and there along the way, Breha came towards her. Finally, Breha reached the wall, which she leaned against, facing out and away from the door so as not to draw attention to it.

"Please tell me this is a rescue operation," Breha said quietly, her lips barely moving as she continued to look out, away from Padme.

"Hopefully the beginnings of one," Padme answered. "Tell me what you see."

"The blast doors are down and every entrance is guarded," she said. "Well," Breha conceded. "every entrance they know about."

"How many enemies?"

"Maybe two dozen?" Breha whispered with a shrug. "It's hard to say for sure, but enough that they dispatched with the door guards easily enough. I don't know where all the Jedi ran off to." There was a note of bitterness in her last remark that Padme couldn't help but take a little personally.

"There was another incident that drew them away, they were all in the command center when the attackers struct," Padme explained.

"How convenient," Breha muttered.

"We'll work on fixing that," Padme assured her. "In the meantime, start prioritizing an evacuation and we'll try and smuggle some people out through this passage."

"I'm on it," Breha said, moving away from the wall and back into the gathered throng. Padme tip-toed back to Obi-Wan.

"You won't be able to get many out before being noticed," Obi-Wan said as she related her plan.

"I know, that's why I need you to go roundup as many Jedi as you can and bring them back here," Padme explained. "For every person we take out of the ballroom, we need to put a disguised Jedi back in. If we're careful, we can get enough Jedi inside to subdue the attackers without risking too much collateral damage."

"It's still risky. We could be caught before we're ready to make our move."

"It's better than doing nothing," Padme said. "Go, I'll keep an eye on things here." Padme watched Obi-Wan sneak back out into the hall, then turned to go back to her hiding spot at the top of the service tunnel. She reached the door just as the whole world fragmented around her in a burst of fire.

 

*******

 

Anakin ran beside Barriss toward the command center, shortening his strides somewhat to allow his smaller comrade to keep up. They didn't speak, for which Anakin was grateful. He felt ill. Darth Maul was alive. His thoughts were racing, pulling him back to the fight on Maul's flagship above Alderaan. Over and over in his mind he saw his mother hesitate at the final moment, giving Maul the chance to cut her down with his terrible red blade.

His meditation on that painful memory was interrupted, however, by a tremendous boom that suddenly echoed through the halls, shaking the entire building. Anakin and Barriss both froze in their tracks.

"An explosion," Barriss said, breathing fast."It must have come from somewhere near the ballroom." Anakin felt the knot in his stomach tighten. He'd sent Padme back to the ballroom. Barriss noted his look of panic.

"Anakin, stay focused." she said. "We have to get to the command center." Every muscle in Anakin's body demanded that he rush to Padme, but he held it in check. He reached out with the Force, trying to find her. He still felt her presence, though his mind was too distracted to see anymore. It would have to be enough. He gave Barriss a nod and they broke back into a run, headed for the command center.

 

*******

 

Dust choked the air. Padme's ears rang, drowning out all else. She pushed herself to her feet, wincing as she tried to use her left arm. Her shoulder throbbed and when she reached out to touch it her fingers found the sticky wetness of blood. She'd been lucky though, the wall had taken the brunt of the blast, shielding her from more serious injury. She moved slowly toward the hole blasted out of the ballroom wall.

The ballroom swirled in a grey haze as she clambered through the opening. Through the settling dust, faces began to emerge. Faces streaming with tears, faces streaked with blood. As the ringing subsided, muffled moans of pain began to replace it. A few people began stumbling toward her. A senator supporting his wounded assistant came forward, and Padme grabbed the man's other arm, slinging it over her shoulder. She led them to the service passage she and Obi-Wan had come through.

"There's a way out, through here," she said, extracting herselt as they reached the hole in the wall. She tried to push aside some of the debris to make a better path. The senator and his assistant picked their way through and out of the ballroom. Others came after them, with Padme directing them toward the exist. "That's it, follow the others," she said encouragingly as she pulled another wounded person from the floor and handed her off to someone walking toward the way out. "Keep moving, quickly."

As people began to stream out, Padme continued to move forward, navigating through the rubble and the bodies, desperately searching for Breha. There were plenty of walking wounded, but also many who were more seriously injured. And then there were the dead. Padme turned over one limp form after another, feeling relieved each time it was not her friend.

She found Salma first. The Queen of Alderaan lay partially buried under the broken pieces of a granite pillar, her brown eyes open but unseeing. Padme's stomach dropped at the sight. Next to her lay a form Padme instantly recognized as Breha, face down, one arm clutching her sister's body. Padme felt a chill run across her skin as she moved forward and gingerly rolled Breha over, hoping against hope that her friend was still alive.

Relief flooded over her as Breha responded to being moved with a grimace and a moan. But her happiness was soon tempered by the sight of the gaping wound in Breha's abdomen. Frantic, Padme quickly pulled the cloak off a nearby body and tore it into bandages. She wrapped the makeshift dressing around her friends bleeding torso, pulling it tight.

"Padme?" Breha's eyes flickered open for a moment. Padme leaned down close to her.

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm here," she said, taking Breha's hand in hers. But it wasn't alright. Breha's wounds were serious.  _She's going to die_.  _You know she's going to die._  "Just keep still." Padme choked back tears, screaming internally at the voice in her head to shut up. She was not going to let Breha die.

There were rattling sounds from above and Padme leaned over Breha, sheltering her as fresh debris fell from the disintegrating ceiling. It would not be long before everything left standing came crashing down on them. Padme knew they couldn't wait here for help. They had to move.

Knowing she lacked the strength to carry Breha out, Padme came around and grabbed her under her arms. She got a firm grip and began to drag Breha toward the service passage, stumbling backwards over the debris-laden floor as she went. Breha cried out in pain, but Padme didn't stop, afraid any delay could be a death sentence as she kept a wary eye on the teetering structure above them. Other people were beginning to notice the imminent collapse of the floors above as well, and panic began to spread as everyone who could stand made a mad rush for any exit they could find.

Terrified that they would be trampled, Padme pulled Breha to the side and stopped. She tried to position them beneath a broken pillar propped up against its base. Her hope was that if everything fell in on them from above the pillar might shelter them. She tried not to think too hard about the possibility of being trapped under a pile of rubble, waiting for rescue.

"Padme!" She heard her name shouted through the crowd.

"Obi-Wan!" she shouted back, "over here!" A moment later she saw the Jedi push his way through the throng and scramble toward them through the destruction.

"Are you alright?" he asked, laying a hand gently against her arm as he crouched next to them.

"I'm fine," Padme said, but she nodded to Breha, "You have to help me get her out of here." Obi-Wan quickly took in the extent of Breha's wounds, his brow furrowed. He took something from his utility belt, a small syringe, and injected something into the princess's neck.

"For the pain," he explained to Padme, offering her a hand up. She took it and he hauled her to her feet, then bent back down and scooped Breha into his arms. "Lead the way," he said. Padme took another look at the now jammed-up service corridor and decided they would need another way out. She led Obi-Wan over to another door, half-blasted down from the explosion. A few uninjured people had managed to scramble over the door remnants and get out.

Padme pulled out her blaster and fired repeatedly at what remained of the lower half of the door, then kicked in what was left, clearing a better path. Obi-Wan and Breha went out first, with Padme right behind them. They were only a few meters clear of the ballroom when they heard the mighty crash of the ceiling collapsing behind them.

 

*******

 

Anakin and Barriss were both breathing hard by the time they reached the command center. Hurrying through security, they charged into the main room, calling for General Palpatine. Everyone turned to look at them upon their raucous entrance.

"I know about Maul," Palpatine said, raising his hands as they both began to report what they'd seen.

"We have to send reinforcements to the hangar bay," Anakin insisted, forgetting his rank for a moment.

"It's too late for that," Palpatine said, letting Anakin's out-of-turn order slide. "The Jedi failed to catch up with our enemies." His voice dripped with distaste and disappointment. "Maul commandeered the chancellor's yacht."

"But he'll never get past our fighters," Anakin said confidently. He was relieved. Maul was a fool. He'd flown into a trap.

"We cannot risk any attack on the yacht while the chancellor is a hostage," Palpatine reminded Anakin, deflating the young man's hope.

"Sir, the yacht is making for the prison ships," a captain at a nearby console reported.

"Then what do we do?" Anakind demanded.

"Patience, my young friend," Palpatine said, resting a reassuring hand on Anakin's shoulder. "We must watch, and wait."

 

*******

 

"They're coming up on us, fast," Vigdis said as she looked out the viewport from the bridge of the yacht.

"They won't fire on us, not while we have Valorum." Maul knew the Republic could be counted on for that much.

"Their patience may not hold out forever," she reminded him.

"Put the assistant in an escape pod," he ordered, waving a hand dismissively. "They'll have to mount a rescue, it will buy as more time." Vigdis nodded, disappearing down the corridor. A few minutes later a small escape pod shot into the space between the yacht and the oncoming clone and Jedi fighters. Maul smiled as the fighters scrambled to get to the pod.

"Full power to the rear thrusters," Maul ordered. They had to take advantage of the distraction while they could. They were almost within reach of the prison ships now. Several minutes passed, then a large Republic cruiser drifted into view and the comm lit up. "Put them through," Maul said.

"We know you still have the chancellor," the Republic captain said, standing sharply at attention. Maul could hear the annoyance in the man's voice. "You will release him to us immediately and surrender, or face the consequences" Maul smiled.

"If you interfere with this vessel or the prison ships, Valorum dies," Maul hissed into the comm before switching it off. He was not afraid to call their bluff. He knew there would be no consequences. The Republic military didn't have the stomach for such things.

"The fighters are holding position," his crewman reported, still dressed in his Republic guard armor, though now minus the helmet.

"Are any of the prison ships under our control yet?" Maul asked him as they came within range of the three prison ships.

"Just the  _Selonia_."

"Make for their hangar bay," Maul ordered. The yacht continued forward, followed but unimpeded by the Republic ships. The yacht slid into the hangar bay of the Selonia without incident, and soon Maul was striding down the gangway to the racous cheers of freed Separatist prisoners, with his small crew and Valorum behind him.

He marched to the bridge, stepping over the bodies of slain guards and officers as he went. and immediately approached the navigator's console. He set the coordinates from memory, though they were headed to a destination he had not been to in years.

"Prepare for the jump to lightspeed," he said, signaling to the prisoner sitting in the pilot's chair. Maul settled himself into the captain's position at the center of the bridge.

"What about the prisoner?" Vigdis asked, pulling Valorum forward.

"Take him to the nearest airlock," Maul said, sneering at Valorum as the chancellor's eyes went wide with fear, "and wait for my signal."

 

*******

 

"Sir, we've just received another communication from the  _Selonia_ ," a captain manning one of the console's reported.

"Put it through," Palpatine ordered.

"They've taken the armory!" the ship's captain shouted, his panicked face projected before them. "We've barricaded ourselves in the bridge, but it's only a matter of time before-" The holo fizzled as blaster fire and shouts came through the comm.

"Sir," the captain said, "the chancellor's yacht has reached the  _Selonia_." Palpatine stalked around to another section of the holo, his eyes focused on the prison ship in question as he contemplated his options. Anakin looked on to, his mind working frantically to offer up a solution, anything to stop Maul from getting away.

"What is that?" Anakin asked as movement near the Selonia caught his eye. "Something just went flying out an airlock," he said as he looked closer. The captain at the console magnified the area Anakin was pointing to, giving them all a close-up view of the grisly scene.

"Stars' end," the captain breathed, as they all watched the frozen body tumble through space, "it's Valorum." There was a gasp in the room. The chancellor was dead. Palpatine straightened up, pulling his military tunic tight, his eyes flashing with anger.

"This ends now," Palpatine said, his voice icy. "Activate the emergency self-destruct on the prison vessels."

"What?" Barris exclaimed, staring at Palpatine. Anakin was taken aback too, but kept quiet. Palpatine's order was extreme, but Anakin did not believe any price was too high if it meant the end of Darth Maul.

"Sir?" The captain looked at Palpatine, bewildered.

"There are thousands of people on those ships!" Barriss protested, taking a step toward the general.

"I am not concerned with the welfare of traitors," Palpatine said dismissively.

"What about our own forces?" she demanded.

"Sir, the Selonia is preparing to jump to lightspeed,"

"I cannot risk the security of the Republic in exchange for their lives," Palpatine said coldly. "Begin the activation process."

"Yes, sir," the captain said, clearly trying to conceal his misgivings.

"This is madness!" Barriss said, her voice raised. Anakin grabbed her arm for fear she might actually physically attack the general.

"This is justice," Palpatine said, turning and moving in close, looming over her. "Stand in its way at your own peril, Jedi." Barriss lowered her eyes, cowed by Palpatine's menacing presence, but Anakin knew she was still boiling mad.

"We're ready, sir," the captain said, looking at Palpatine as though he hoped the general might still rescind his order. But Palpatine's face was fixed with resolve.

"Do it," he ordered sharply.

Anakin watched the holoprojector, still holding Barriss's arm. He was frozen in place. As they watched, the silhouette of one of the prison ships suddenly elongated and disappeared. A millisecond later, the projection erupted into twin flashes of light and a muffled boom rocked the Senate Building as the shockwave of the massive explosions reached the planet's surface.

Next to him, Barriss slumped forward in shock, leaning against the projector. He let go of her. He could see the tears streaking her face. He'd felt it too, the instantaneous deaths of thousands seared through the Force like a bolt of lightning. But Anakin could spare no part of himself in mourning for strangers. He was numb with disappointment and anger, and his eyes lingered on the spot where the  _Selonia_  had jumped to lightspeed. Darth Maul had escaped, again.


	9. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

Padme and Obi-Wan ran out into the plaza just outside the Senate Building along with a crowd of hundreds. Obi-Wan carried Breha in his arms as Padme pushed a path for them through the crowd, trying to get to the emergency vehicles at the far side of the plaza.

They were nearing the edge of the plaza when the sky lit up. People screamed and dove for cover, fearing another attack. Instinctively, Padme dropped to a kneeling position, and Obi-Wan too sunk low, careful of his badly wounded burden.The sound of the explosion took a few seconds to reach them, arriving with a shock wave powerful enough to throw just about everyone still standing to the ground.

Padme braced herself against the ground as the shock wave passed over them. Through squinting eyes she saw the damaged Senate Building sway, but its stocky frame stayed upright. She looked up at the sky, trying to determine the source of the explosion. As she scanned the heavens she realized she could no longer make out the silhouettes of the three large ships orbiting Coruscant.    

“The prison ships,” she murmured to herself, trying to understand what had just happened. “Where are they?”

“Destroyed,” Obi-Wan answered. She turned to him and was surprised to see the Jedi’s face had gone white, as though he were in shock. His eyes were wide and staring at the heavens.

“But why would the Separatists destroy their own people?” she asked, puzzled. None of it made any sense.

“Perhaps they didn’t,” he said, still looking up. Padme looked at him in confusion.

“You don’t mean…” she began, trailing off as the full implication of his words sunk in. But she couldn’t accept it. “No,” she said firmly, “the Republic hasn’t sunk that far. Not yet.” Obi-Wan looked far less certain, but a pained moan from Breha reminded them of their purpose. There was no time for further discussion.  

“Over here!” Medical units were organizing the people in the plaza. “Wounded over here!” Padme and Obi-Wan got up and brought Breha over to one of the emergency speeders. Obi-Wan handed the wounded princess over to the medics, who began securing her to a stretcher and hooking her up to a bacta bag.

“Stay with the princess, I’ll do what I can here,” Obi-Wan said, turning back toward the Senate Building. Padme nodded and  started to get into the speeder with Breha, but a med droid blocked her way with its thin metal arm.

“No, critically wounded only, no passengers,” Padme opened her mouth to argue, but stopped short. She knew the med droid was right. She stepped back from the speeder. The doors slammed shut and it sped off, sirens blaring.

She looked around for Obi-Wan, but he’d already rushed off and she couldn’t see him in the crowd. For the first time since the attack began, Padme paused and  took in the scene around her. It had been a long time since she’d been in a warzone, but the sights and smells were all too familiar. She recognized the looks of blank disbelief, the scent of smoke and blood in the air, the dust-coated faces streaked with tears. She’d seen it all play out before.

Her mind transported her, an unwilling passenger, back in time to her home village. The sounds of the engines of the emergency speeders transformed into the whine of bombers, growing faint as they moved on to their next target. The smell of burning evergreens erupted unbidden from the recesses of her memory. Her heart began to pound in her chest.  

Padme squeezed her eyes shut, wrenching her mind back into the present. She pushed her memories back in the well-worn mental prison where she usually kept them and hurried over to help the wounded as they emerged from the Senate Building. She knew if she let herself stop and think for too long it would all overwhelm her. She couldn’t allow that to happen. She had to keep moving. It was how she’d survived so long during the occupation of her homeworld, and it was how she would continue to survive now.

Running on autopilot, Padme made the rounds of the wounded, bringing them water, tightening a bandage, finding a med droid to look after them. As Padme helped a Mandalorian delegate with a wounded foot climb aboard a speeder taxi turned into a makeshift ambulance, a med droid swooped down on her.   

“You require treatment,” the droid intoned, indicating the bloody patch on her left shoulder.

“It’s fine,” she said, trying to wave the droid away as she walked back toward the Senate building. “Just a scratch.”

“This injury is not a superficial wound,” the droid said, hovering behind her. “The risk of infection is high.” Padme sighed.

“Alright, alright,” she said, finding an overturned chair to sit on in a relatively empty part of the Senate lobby. “But hurry up.” The med droid set to work, pulling back the tattered fabric of her dress and spraying her wound with a stinging antiseptic before starting the stitches. Padme winced as the droid worked, but the pain wasn’t too bad.

While she waited for the droid to finish its work, she looked around at the others taking shelter inside the lobby. She recognized a few faces and was glad to see many of her colleagues had escaped unharmed, but there were also plenty of stretchers bearing the dead. Her stomach gave a funny jolt as she recognized the glittering gown of Ta’a Chume splayed out beneath a white sheet, the princess’s bejeweled hand dangling lifelessly off the side of the stretcher as a med droid pushed it past.

Her first thought was one of relief. She would never have to worry about the meddling princess from Hapes again. But her relief was soon replaced by shame. _Are you really so desperate to keep your secret that you can rejoice in another’s death?_ she asked herself, horrified. And then, it hit her. Her secret. In the flurry of violence and terror, she hadn’t given a thought to it. Her chest constricted in panic as her hand fluttered automatically to her abdomen.

 _You would know_ , she told herself. _You would know if something happened, if something went wrong_. But she wasn’t actually certain of that. She remembered with renewed fear the force of the blast that knocked her back in the service passage. Everything felt normal, but she had to know for sure. She turned to the med droid who was just wrapping up its stitches.   

“Do you keep records of your patients?” she asked quietly, looking around to make sure no one was standing too close. Fortunately, they were tucked in a corner of the lobby that was largely shielded from view.

“I am an emergency medical droid. I am not programmed to record personal information.”

“Then there’s something else I need from you” she said, dropping her voice still lower. She explained her condition to the droid in a hushed whisper. “I was in close proximity to the blast. Can you…” she paused, unwilling to vocalize her worst fears. “I just want to make sure everything is okay.”

The droid extended a sensor, which emitted a blue light as it scanned her body. The droid’s holoprojector came on, displaying the results of the scan. Padme held her breath, watching, waiting. Finally, after several agonizing moments, she saw once more the two beings, neither much bigger than a caf bean. As the sound of their heartbeats reached her ears, she finally exhaled.

“Everything appears to be normal,” the droid assured her.  

“Thank you.”

“Padme, is that you?” Padme jumped out the sound of Obi-Wan’s voice calling out to her from nearby. She whipped around to see him coming toward her through the rubble. Padme swore under her breath.

“Turn that thing off!” Padme ordered the med droid frantically. The droid promptly turned off its projector, but as Padme turned around and saw the look on Obi-Wan’s face, she knew it was too late.

 

*******

 

Obi-Wan stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure what to do. His mind was quickly putting the pieces together. The mission on Scipio, Anakin’s emotional turmoil, the terrified look on Padme’s face, and at the center of it all, two tiny blips of new life. He was dumbstruck, caught somewhere between shock and mortification.“I’m so sorry,” he finally stammered, staring at his boots, “I thought you’d gone...I didn’t mean to…” he trailed off, his thought incomplete. He waited for Padme to speak, but she said nothing. He could sense her nervousness.

“Do you require any additional assistance?” the med droid asked, oblivious to the tension.

“No, you’ve done quite enough,” Padme said forcefully, waving off the droid, who moved on to another group of wounded. Obi-Wan looked up as she turned back to him. She looked defiant, her jaw was set, but he knew she was afraid. “You saw the scan?” she asked. Obi-Wan nodded.

She went silent again, her lips pursed in thought. He went back to staring at the floor, but he could feel her eyes on him. He knew his cheeks were burning red, though he honestly wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or anger. _Anakin, you fool_ , he thought to himself, _you blasted, blasted fool_.

“If you want to ask me, ask me,” Padme said at last. Her tone was strange, halfway between challenging and entreating. _What does she want me to say?_ he wondered. _What_ can _I say?_

“It’s none of my business,” he said after a moment’s deliberation, finally looking up at her. He saw her smile ever so slightly. She had clearly expected a different reaction, but he had no intention of interrogating her on the matter. Besides he didn’t need to ask. He already knew.

“Will you tell the Council?” she asked, the nervous strain returning to her voice. Her question and the look in her eyes erased any lingering doubts he might have had.

“No,” he said slowly, thinking it through, “I will speak with Anakin first.”

“He doesn’t know,” she said hurriedly, her voice a little panicky. “I haven’t told him.”

“Are you going to?” Obi-Wan asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Before she could answer, a clone trooper came rushing over to them, leaping over debris to get to their position. He saluted Obi-Wan as he reach them.

“General Kenobi,” the trooper said with a salute. “You’re wanted at the Jedi Temple, sir. No one has been able to reach you on your comm.” Obi-Wan looked down at his belt and pulled his comlink free. One end of it was smashed, with sparking exposed wired coming out of it. Obi-Wan sighed.

“Yes, I’ll be right there,” he said, reattached the destroyed comlink to his belt. He dismissed the clone trooper, making sure he was well out of earshot before he turned back to Padme.

“Your secret is safe with me,” he said softly, “for now,” he qualified. “But it’s not a secret I can keep forever.”

“I understand,” she said, nodding.

“Talk to Anakin,” he implored her as he turned to go. “For all our sakes.”

 

*******

 

Anakin gripped the edge of the holoprojector, still staring at the place where Maul’s ship had vanished a few moments before. All around him, however, life continued on. He was only half aware of what was happening in the room, but as the rage of shock of Maul’s escape ebbed away, his surroundings slowly began to come back into focus. _Padme_ , he thought, _I have to find Padme_.

The comlink on his wrist began to beep. He was being summoned back to the Temple. Beside him, he could see Barriss was receiving the same message. She didn’t seem to notice her comlink whatsoever. She continued to stare down at her hands, her face still pale from shock.

Anakin knew he’d have to take charge. Barriss would be no help to him no. He stepped over quickly to General Palpatine to ask permission for their dismissal. Palpatine was bent over a schematic of the office wing, and the two were engaged in a heated debate.

“I am not concerned with security, it is imperative that my personal team of agents inspect the office first. I will take no chances,” Palpatine’s tone was urgent and firm as he and the officer argued. “Yes, Skywalker, what is it?” he asked as Anakin walked up.

“Sir, Barriss and I have been recalled to the Temple,” Anakin explained.

“Yes, you are free to go,” Palpatine said, waving a hand dismissively, “I trust I can count on you, at least, to give a fair account to the Council? I don’t think that girl is in any fit state to explain. ” Anakin looked back over his shoulder at Barriss, who still looked shaken. He felt suddenly embarrassed by her. She’d questioned Palpatine’s orders, and now she was barely holding herself together.

“You can count on me, sir,” Anakin said, his cheeks reddening slightly. Palpatine gave him a small nod before turning back to his discussion with the officer. Anakin strode back over to Barriss and took her arm, hauling her up somewhat roughly. “We have to go back to the Temple,” he told her, steering her out of the room. She let him lead her out. Beneath his fingertips he could feel her arm was shaking.

They moved together through the checkpoints, under the watchful eyes of the clone guards. As they came out of the reinforced bunker at the heart of the building, the damage of the attack became very starkly real. Everywhere they were surrounded by collapsed walls, chunks of permasteele and duracrete, and the unmistakable stench of death. Clone troopers were carrying bodies out this way on stretchers, moving them from the ballroom. Anakin’s mind reeled as he took it in.

His thoughts flew to Padme. If she was dead you would know, he told himself. But she could still be hurt, or trapped, caught somewhere in mortal peril. He tried to reach out to her through the Force, but his senses were garbled and distorted by his rising panic. He looked down at Barris, who seemed to be coming back to herself somewhat.

“Can you get back to the Temple on your own?” he asked her. She turned her face upwards.

“Yes,” she said, still a little shaky, “but where are you going?”

“I have to check on something,” he said, staring to move away, but she grabbed his sleeve, clutching it tightly in her fist.

“It isn’t safe, Anakin,” she whispered nervously, glancing around at the milling clone troopers and naval officers. He tried to tug free, but she held on. “We can’t trust them. Not after what he did.” He could see the fear in her eyes. The shock of the deaths on the prison ships had given way to fear. She believed Palpatine was a cold-blooded killer. But Anakin had no time or sympathy for that way of thinking.

“I’ll be fine,” he said cooly, prying her fingers away. “Go.” She gave him one last beseeching look, but when he didn’t budge she turned and walked through the rubble and out of the Senate Building toward the Temple. Anakin watched her disappear into the crowd outside, then headed in the opposite direction, following the maze of half-destroyed corridors until he came to the ballroom. His heart sank as he looked in on its collapsed ruin.

People were still streaming out and away from the scene of devastation, heading to the plaza outside. Anakin followed them, jostling through the crowd and into the orange glow of Coruscant’s sunlight. He moved through the plaza, trying to take in every face, but he couldn’t find her. Panic continued to rise in his chest. Then someone grabbed his shoulder from behind he turned around, beaming, certain it would be her.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan exclaimed. Anakin’s face fell. “You seem to be headed in the wrong direction. All Jedi are to report to the Temple.”

“I have to find Senator Naberrie. I sent her back to the ballroom, if anything happened to her...” he trailed off. He didn’t want to finish the thought.

“She’s fine.” Obi-Wan assured him. “We ran into each other. She’s safe. I promise.” Obi-Wan looked intently up at him. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

“It was Maul,” Anakin said, realizing Obi-Wan must not know.

“What?”

“Darth Maul. He’s alive. He did this. All of it.” Anakin felt his anger come rushing back in. Obi-Wan looked incredulous.

“You’re certain?” he asked. Anakin knew Obi-Wan though he’d seen Maul die. Anakin thought he’d seen the same. Now he knew better.

“I saw him.” Anakin said shortly. Obi-Wan looked at him a moment, seemingly on the verge of saying something more, but when he next spoke it was not about Maul.

“Come on, we need to report in at the temple.” Obi-Wan steered Anakin toward a gaggle of hover taxis, looking for one to hail. In the aftermath of the attack, however, this proved easier said than done.

“They’ll send us after him, won’t they?” Anakin asked Obi-Wan anxiously as they poked through the crowd, trying to find an available transport.

“It will be up to the Council,” Obi-Wan said, not keen to discuss it. The mixture of anger and excitement in Anakin’s voice was troubling.  

“It should be us. It has to be us,” Anakin said authoritatively. “We’re the only ones who’ve faced him.”

“I’m sure the Council will weigh all the factors carefully,” Obi-Wan demurred, cursing silently as a group of senate aides beat them to an open hover taxi.

“I have to go after him, Obi-Wan.” Anakin insisted. “I’ll do it against the Council’s wishes if I have to.”

“That’s a good way to get expelled from the Order,” Obi-Wan noted wryly.

“What does it matter?” Anakin asked aggressively. “Isn’t that what you think I deserve?” Obi-Wan regarded his apprentice in silence, trying to keep his frustration in check. In light of Padme’s accidental revelation, there was part of him that wanted to shout at Anakin that expulsion was exactly what he deserved, but he held back. Arguing with Anakin would only feed the young man’s anger.

“I did not discuss the...incident...on Ryloth with the Council,” Obi-Wan admitted. Anakin looked up, clearly surprised at his master’s words.

“Why not?” Anakin asked, squinting suspiciously.

“Let’s walk back,” Obi-Wan said, steering toward the elevated walkway and away from the hover taxis. “This is a lost cause anyway.” Anakin fell into step beside him. Obi-Wan could sense his apprentice’s trepidation. What should he say to the boy? Master Yoda’s counsel was still there in the back of his mind, but Obi-Wan wasn’t sure it even mattered in light of the situation with Padme. It seemed all but certain now that Anakin would leave the Order, one way or another.

“I am your master, your teacher,” Obi-Wan told Anakin as they walked, “at least for now. You are my responsibility. Contrary to what you seem to think, I’m not trying to get you into trouble. I’m trying to help you.”

“I know,” Anakin said quietly.

“I saw no reason to involve the Council in this matter,” Obi-Wan said, deciding not to elaborate further for the moment. He wanted to advise Anakin, but everything was so up in the air he wasn’t sure how. Padme’s secret felt like an invisible wall between them, one only Obi-Wan knew the full extent of. He needed to talk to Anakin openly and honestly, but he couldn’t do that without betraying Padme’s trust. They walked on in silence for some time.

“Obi-Wan,” Anakin said as they neared the Temple. His voice seemed uncharacteristically small. “What’s going to happen now?”

Obi-Wan glanced over at Anakin. In the retreating light, Anakin suddenly looked younger, more like the teenager Obi-Wan had met on Tatooine years before. He could sense the boy’s fear, and he shared it. Everything was uncertain now.

“I don’t know, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said as they marched up the Temple steps. “I really don’t.”

 

*******

 

By the time Padme boarded a dingy public transport for the medical facility it was fully dark outside. She’d lost track of how many hours had passed since the attack. It felt like I lifetime ago that she and Anakin had sat on the roof, planning a future that now felt very far away. Over the course of the evening she’d learned more details about the attack as she’d continued to tend the wounded. Darth Maul was alive, Chancellor Valorum was dead, and General Palpatine was now the de facto leader of the Republic.

Her mind was too tired to truly process what the fallout of the attack would be, though she was certain it would not be good. She rested her head against the window and shut her eyes, half-dozing despite the bright light running down the center of the transport’s interior, letting her exhaustion take over for the brief trip. She didn’t know what she might be facing on the other side.

She knew the journey was easily half an hour on transit system with its many stops, but it felt like only seconds elapsed before the electronic scroll above the door signaled that she’d arrived at her stop. She began to feel uneasy once again as she stepped down onto the dock and headed towards the medical facility. She’d had no word on Breha. For all she knew, her friend was dead. She hadn’t seen a trace of Anakin either, for that matter. _One crisis at a time_ , she told herself as she walked up to the front desk.

Her relief at discovering Breha was checked into a room and not in the morgue was short lived, as the droid at the counter directed her towards the area of the facility reserved for the most severely injured patients. She hurried down the hall to the lift, tapping the toe of her boot impatiently as the metal tube shot up several floors. Her senate identification badge was enough to get her into the secured wing, and when she saw Bail Organa sitting in a chair in the hall, she ran to him.

“Padme!” he said, standing to hug her.  She could see his eyes were bloodshot. He looked completely drained. She didn’t imagine she looked much better.

 “How is she?” she asked nervously. The curtains of the room across from them were drawn. Padme felt certain Breha was behind them.

“The internal damage was extensive, but she’s been through surgery and she should be through the worst. She’s going to make it.” Padme felt the tightness in her chest loosen somewhat. She collapsed into one of the chairs and buried her face in her hands, willing herself not to weep. Bail gently put his hand on her shoulder. She forced her tears down and looked back up at him.

“Is she awake?”

“Yes, they’re just changing her dressings. I’m sure you’ll be able to go in when they’re done,” he said, taking a seat next to her. “She knows about Salma,” he said quietly, referencing Breha’s late sister. For the first time it hit Padme that Salma’s death meant Breha was now queen. “She’s been asking for you.” Padme nodded, and they sat in silence for a few moments before it occurred to Padme that Bail might have crossed paths with Anakin at some point during the attack. There was no harm in asking, she decided. Besides, Bail was an old friend.

“Did you happen to run into Commander Skywalker today?” she asked, trying to sound casual. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I did, actually,” he said, “last I saw him he was in the Command Center, safe and sound.” The tension drained out of Padme’s shoulders. Anakin was alive. Breha was safe. Maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be alright.

The door to Breha’s room hissed open and two medical droids floated out of it. “You may go in now,” one of them said as the pair drifted down the corridor. Padme looked over at Bail.

“You go on,” he said gently, pulling a datapad from his bag. “General Palpatine will have me locked up if I don’t report in soon anyhow.” He said it jokingly, but Padme thought there might be some truth in his words. Padme nodded and pushed herself up out of the chair, then walked cautiously into Breha’s room.

The lights were dimmed, but it was still bright enough that Padme could see Breha was hooked up to a variety of machines and monitors. Breha lay nearly flat on the bed, with her head just slightly propped up. Beneath the white sheets that covered her Padme could see the glow of pulmonodes in Breha’s chest. A thicker blanket in place on the lower section of Breha’s body made it impossible to say how extensive the rest of the damage might be, but Padme could guess well enough.

“Breha,” she said, sitting on the edge of the chair next to the bed and taking Breha’s hand in her own.

“You made it,” Breha said weakly, glancing over at her.

“Of course I did,” Padme said, giving her hand a light squeeze.

“You saved my life,” Breha said, laughing a bit, though it caused her to grimace. “Again.” Padme bowed her head.

“You’d have done the same for me.” It was true. They’d each pulled the other out of deadly situations many times before.

“You’re alright?” Breha asked. “I mean…” Padme realized she was referring to the twins.

“Everything’s fine,” she told Breha, feeling glad she could say it with certainty.

“Good,” Breha said, her eyes closing slightly, “that’s good.” They were both silent for a moment. Padme suspected Breha was working very hard to hide her pain, mental and physical. But when she spoke again her voice sounded stronger. “I never would have forgiven myself if...well.”

“None of this was your fault,” Padme insisted. Breha looked away. Padme understood. She blamed herself for surviving when her sister had not. Perhaps she even thought the Separatists had targeted the Alderaan delegation as retribution. It occured to Padme that could very well be true. Her blood ran cold at the thought.

“I’m just glad your safe,” Breha said, turning back to her. “I can’t lose anyone else, Padme.” Breha’s voice cracked. “I can’t.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Padme said, wrapping her other hand around Breha’s. One corner of Breha’s lips tugged up every so slightly in a half-smile before the young queen drifted back into sleep. Padme watched her slumber for awhile before laying her head on the bedside and letting sleep overcome her at last.

 

*******

 

Obi-Wan stood, exhausted, in front of the Council. The evening had quickly ebbed into the fullness of night as he’d debriefed the Council and listened to others do the same for hours on end. Anakin and the other apprentices involved had been mercifully dismissed, but Obi-Wan was still here. He zoned out for a while, resting with his eyes open, but his mind came back into focus as Master Balaba finished her compiled report on the attack.

“Our report from Republic Intelligence is heavily redacted, but the accounts of those Jedi who were present confirm the return of Darth Maul and that General Palpatine himself gave the order to destroy the prison ships. We also have a confidential informant has suggested the Maul may have attempted to repeat the clone attack at Geonosis, but we can’t confirm.” The last part of the report was news to Obi-Wan. He surmised the informant was probably Bail Organa. Whoever it was, they were taking an awful risk coming to the Jedi.

“We also know,” Master Balaba continued, “that Republic forces captured multiple co-conspirators, but so far none has yielded any accurate information regarding Maul’s location.”

“Worrying, this is,” Yoda said. “Too much we do not know. ”

“What about the clone trooper recovered from Ryloth?” Master Windu asked.

“Our analysis will not be complete for several days. We need more time.” Shaak Ti explained.

“Perhaps, Master Kenobi and his apprentice…” Master Fisto began, but Windu interrupted him.

“No. Skywalker is far too close to the situation,” Master Windu said forcefully, shaking his head. “He lacks objectivity.”

“Anakin can control his feelings,” Obi-Wan insisted, though he didn’t really believe that in his heart of hearts.

“So sure you are, Master Kenobi?” Yoda asked. Obi-Wan frowned. He’d thought Yoda would be on his side. But perhaps he thought Maul would be too dangerous for Anakin, and maybe he was right.

“If the pursuit of Maul is not a suitable mission, then let us go to Alderaan,” Obi-Wan said, improvising on the spot. Maybe he could at least get Padme to talk to Anakin and he would no longer be burdened with her secret. “Anakin and I have some familiarity with the planet, and we are both acquainted with the new queen as well as with Senator Naberrie.”

“Master Kenobi raises an important point,” Master Mundi stated, bowing his large head sagely. “The leaders of Alderaan will need additional protection.”

“Many of the former Rogues will be gathered for the funeral of Queen Salma. The event could prove a tempting target for the Separatists.”

“Obi-Wan, you are the only Jedi who has faced Maul before,” Master Windu said. “We will need your experience.”

“My padawan and I can accompany young Skywalker to Alderaan, if Master Kenobi is needed elsewhere,” Master Unduli offered. Obi-Wan looked at Luminara, wishing she hadn’t been so quick to assist. He didn’t want to separated from Anakin, not now. He shot a pleading look at Master Yoda, but it went unnoticed, or at least unheeded.

“Go then,” Yoda said to Luminara. “Escort the delegation from Alderaan, you will. Master Kenobi will help lead the hunt for Darth Maul. Adjourn here for tonight, we shall.”

“Obi-Wan,” Mace Windu said, coming over to him as the Council dispersed, “I’ll see you on Yularen’s ship at 0800.”

“Yes, sir,” Obi-Wan said with a sigh. “I’ll be there.”

 

*******

 

“Here’s your tea,” Neerin said as he entered the Alderaanian repulsorpod in the Senate Chamber. He handed the warm mug over to Padme and took his seat behind her, his faithful astromech in tow. Padme had awoken in Breha’s hospital room to find she’d been summoned to an emergency session. All she wanted was a Savareen brandy and her bed, but as she could have neither she nursed her tea and listened to the shouts of those senators awake enough to make their opinions known.

“This is what we had feared! Darth Maul has returned!” someone shouted from a repulsorpod above her.

“We are more vulnerable than any of us knew. We must increase our strength!” an aggressive voice shouted from across the chamber.

“The Separatists must pay for the blood on their hands!” This remark drew a substantial, if somewhat weary, cheer.

Padme was having none of it. She knew what it was to act out of revenge. She’d done it herself, and she knew the only thing it would result in was more bloodshed. She took another sip of her tea as her eyes roved over the chamber. An astonishing number of repulsorpods were empty. Some occupants were dead, she knew, and many others were wounded or had gone home. At the center of the chamber, the the Vice Chair, Mas Amedda, called the session to order.

“In this time of great crisis, we must turn to the strongest among us to lead.” Mas Amedda’s voice boomed across the chamber. Padme sighed. _This is absurd_ , she thought, _there’s hardly enough of us to even hold this session_. “General Palpatine has led our forces through years of war. He is a strong man, a fearless man, who will crush these Separatist murderers!” There was a roar. “Therefore, I nominate General Palpatine as the new Chancellor, and grant him immediate emergency powers to strike at our enemy with the full might of the Republic!”

A chant rose up among the senators for an immediate vote. Padme was feeling more awake now. She knew what voting Palpatine in would mean. More war, more violence, more death. She looked again at the half-empty chamber...maybe there really weren’t enough senators for a vote. She pulled up a chart of the chamber on her console.

“What are you doing?” Neerin asked, watching her eyes move methodically across the screen.

“Counting,” Padme said, mentally marking her place to talk with her assistant.

“It’s not a quorum?” Neerin wondered, peering over her shoulder.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” she said, slightly exasperated. Neerin nodded.

“I’ll get Tinny to scan, it’ll be faster,” he said, summoning over his small, ancient-looking astromech. A scanner slowly rose from the top of the little droids head and Padme soon heard the whirring of gears as the droid started its count. Not totally convinced Tinny was up to the job, she resumed her own count.

“Is this what we have come to?” Senator Mothma was saying, having risen up in the wake of Mas Amedda’s rant. “My friends, the Republic is in grave danger. Listen to yourselves. We are on the verge of becoming as barbaric as our enemies.” To Padme, Mon Mothma sounded like the voice of reason, but then she saw Palpatine stand up.

“We must end the war. The time for compromise is over.” Palpatine said firmly. Padme stopped counting now. She wanted to hear what he would say. “We must show no mercy. If they will not accept defeat, we have no other choice. The complete and total destruction of our enemy is the only way forward!” There were murmurs of agreement from the chamber. Palpatine’s remarks only confirmed her fears. She looked over at Neerin, who was checking Tinny’s progress.

“We need more time,” he told her. “Stall!” Padme signaled that she wanted the floor and was soon recognized. Most of her fellow Senators seemed too tired to have much interest in grandstanding.

“Senators,” she began, taking a brief pause as she sorted out what she would say, “many of us, myself included, will soon be departing for home to bury our dead.” If she could guilt them into postponing the vote, she would. Money and fear were the primary tools of politics, but guilt sometimes worked too, and she intended to lay it on thick. “I wish I could say this is the first time in my young life I have seen a friend laid to rest, but I cannot, and I know it is the same for many of you. I, for one, do not wish to rush hastily forward while my grief is still so fresh.”

A few senators nodded, but those ginned up by Mas Amedda and Palpatine were clearly still ready for a quick vote. She felt Neerin slip a datapad into her fingers. She looked down at it and quickly took note of the number.

“I also beg you to remember how many seats in this chamber are now empty,” she continued. “How can we vote for a new leader without representation from so many worlds? We must allow for more time. Time to grieve, yes, but also time to restore this body to full strength. Our laws require it.” A few more heads perked up at her last sentence. She could see senators turning to their staff, trying to figure out if she was correct.

“Senator Naberrie is right,” an elderly statesman from Gromas said. “Do we even have a quorum?” The murmuring grew louder. Everyone was checking the numbers now. She could see Mas Amedda hunched over his own console at the center of the chamber. When he straightened up again, he looked livid.

“It appears our numbers are insufficient to vote at this time,” Mas Amedda conceded. “Our session is adjourned.” The chamber erupted in chatter as the senators took their leave. Padme sat down heavily, breathing a sigh of relief, but across the room she made eye contact with Palpatine. His eyes seemed to bore into her very soul, but she didn’t look away. She had the distinct impression he was trying to read her mind, but after a few more moments of eye contact, he suddenly turned away.

“That was close,” Neerin said, giving Tinny a pat on the dome. “You’d think they would have counted everyone before convening the session.”

“Oh, I think they did.” Padme said, now staring at Palpatine’s back, “I think they knew exactly what they were doing.” Padme got up to leave as well. She had to see Breha home safely, and bury her queen, but she knew now that the fight against the ambitions of General Palpatine was only beginning.


End file.
